


The Force User

by kickassanakin



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Genre: Children Fighting A War Jesus Christ You're All Babies, Force Ghosts, Gen, Post-RotJ, The Force Ghosts Are More Like The Three Undead Stooges, yeerk infestation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-09-08
Packaged: 2018-05-22 00:37:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 28,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6064156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kickassanakin/pseuds/kickassanakin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a mission to discover new planets (and hopefully, new Force-sensitive beings), Luke, R2-D2, and his ensemble of Force Ghost stooges get sucked into a world infested with the Dark side. <br/>The Animorphs are having a normal day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I always try and mash my current favorite thing with Animorphs at least once in my life. Star Wars is so far working the best.   
> This is more Luke's story than it is anyone else's. I might change that a little later, though.

The Rebellion had long since ended. The New Republic was in power, working to fix all the horrors the Empire had brought. Organics were beginning to trust in the government again.

And Luke Skywalker, savior of the galaxy, was putting the Jedi Order back together at last.

He had set out on his own to explore the vast undocumented areas of space. He knew that somehow, there was still a danger to the galaxy out there, one that would spring upon the New Republic and ruin all their hard work.

He had settled Artoo comfortably in his small freighter and said his goodbye to his sister and brother-in-law about four months ago. He had an extremely long-distance comlink, though, so he wasn’t too worried about missing his family.

Plus, he had some other company in his ship that wasn’t _quite_ as welcome.

“Luke, you’ve got to tell Artoo to stop rolling through me. It’s weird.”

The young Jedi sighed at the apparition. “He doesn’t quite register your presence. Either that, or he likes pissing you off. Orders from me won’t stop him.”

The ghost of Anakin Skywalker huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “I swear, I’ll use whatever ghostly Force powers I have to knock a screw loose in that droid if he does it again.” He shook his head. “I’d have to ask Obi-Wan if that were even possible.” He turned around, facing the door to the galley, and cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hey, old man!” He called out, then, after a moment’s consideration, “I mean, the human old man!”

Luke sighed and walked away from his eccentric father.

He was stuck on this ship for the foreseeable future with the ghosts of his biological father and his two Masters. The three had decided to go with him in order to provide whatever guidance they had. Well, Obi-Wan and Yoda had offered that much. Anakin just wanted to “bond”.

Luke made his way to the cockpit, where Artoo was currently navigating. “Anything new on the maps?” Luke asked hopefully.

The old droid spun his head around and whirred dejectedly. “That’s all right, just let me know when something else pops up, okay?”

He left the cockpit and went towards the galley. Anakin had found Obi-Wan and Yoda and was chatting with them about Force ghost powers. Luke ignored the three ghosts, instead opting for the food prep center, where he spent a decent amount of time.

As he was the only living organic on the ship, he was in charge of his own diet. He had plenty of food rations – enough for years of space travel, if he were to remain on ship for that long – but he liked to try his hand at genuine cooking, as well.

He was lucky to be the only person he cooked for.

“You need any help, kiddo?” Anakin’s voice came from behind him. The young man was startled by the sudden appearance of his father.

“No thank you. I can boil an egg perfectly fine by myself.” The young Skywalker waved his father off. “I’ve even got a timer so I don’t leave it in the water too long.”

The elder Skywalker chuckled. “Whatever you say.” He didn’t leave, though; he stayed behind his son and watched him prepare the simple pot full of water. “If you put a pinch of salt in the water, it makes the eggs easier to peel.”

“Thanks.” Luke, for once, took his father’s advice.

There was a peaceful quiet in the ship – the two other Force ghosts’ voices carried over softly from the galley itself. Anakin sat on a nearby crate of rations as Luke scurried about the food prep area, putting away various items that seemed out of place.

Not long after, the water began to boil. Luke smiled as the noise reached his ears, and he turned around to place the egg in the water.

The voices from the galley fell silent. Anakin froze.

Things went wrong so fast after that.

Luke could hear his droid scrambling through the halls, and was not surprised to see him burst through the food prep door. Artoo screeched out a frantic warning and shoved Luke out of the way of the stove – just in time, as the ship lurched forward heavily and knocked the pot of boiling water onto the droid.

“Holy – what just happened, Artoo?”

The droid sparked and sizzled for a moment before beeping quietly. Luke frowned – his understanding of Binary was not quite the best.

Anakin stepped in for the scrambled droid. “He said – he said it was a wormhole. Appeared too quickly for us to avoid it.”

Luke took a deep, shuddering breath and straightened up. “All right. Do you know where we are?”

The response, a confused and dejected whirr, didn’t need a translation.

“Okay, we need to find the nearest planet and land. Hopefully we’ll find some form of space worthy life.”

Anakin nodded and stood up. “We should get to the cockpit, see what’s around. Come on, Artoo.” He said as he began walking.

Luke, quick to follow, cleared his throat. “I should check the comm systems, too. I want to see if I can contact Leia and Han.”

“If it’s really an emergency and you can’t reach them, Obi-Wan, Yoda or I can find our way back and take a message.”

Luke nodded thankfully as they reached the bridge. Artoo brought up the nearby planetary scans while Luke fiddled with the comm system. He groaned as he stood up, running his mechanical hand through his hair.

“Well, we’re too far out to reach Coruscant,” Luke frowned. “Artoo, what do the scans show us?”

Anakin had already taken a cursory glance at the scans. “Nine planets, only one with intelligent life forms on it. That one’s the third planet from the sun.”

Luke frowned. “That’s weird. Are the other planets inhospitable?”

“Yes… and it seems that the organic life on the planet are capable of only basic space travel. However, there are… _other_ ships around that seem much more capable of space flight.” Anakin squinted his eyes at the scans. “Only rudimentary stealth technology, though. I’m surprised the organics on the planet below don’t detect them.”

Luke got closer to the holo-screen showing the data. “It almost looks like a blockade.”

Anakin looked… disturbed. “I have to go talk to the others about this,” he told his son, “Approach slowly, and keep our shields and stealth units up.”

With that, the elder Skywalker disappeared, presumably to discuss the issue in the galley. Luke looked to his trusty droid and shrugged. “You heard the ghost.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems there's only one planet worth investigating. And what's around it might be even more interesting...

Yoda and Obi-Wan looked as pale as the grave – well, _paler_ than the grave. Anakin sat with them at their table.

“What in the world is up with this planet?” He asked. “It’s freaky. It’s almost as if-“

“As if the Dark side of the Force is strong here,” Obi-Wan interrupted. “And yet I do not sense many Force-sensitives on this planet.”

“Perhaps unrelated to the Force, this is.” Yoda shrugged. “One can be part of the Dark Side without the Force.”

“Well, whatever is happening, it’s concentrated in those ships – and in certain points on the planet.” Anakin placed his hands on the table. “Perhaps we should investigate.”

“Let us see this planet first, Skywalker.” Yoda said as he hopped off of his seat. “Then we will decide what to do.”

Anakin grumbled. “You called me all the way back to the galley in order to tell me we’re going up to the bridge? Fine, _fine_. Let’s go.”

* * *

 

“Here is a spot that seems concentrated in Dark Force,” Obi-Wan pointed to a section on the map that was at the very edge of one land mass. Yoda shook his head.

“No, begin our search off-planet, we should.” He pointed to the largest ship in space, a dark mass that seemed to be in the shape of a war-axe. “This is where the Force is Darkest.”

Anakin snorted. “Masters, please. You may have been adept at the Light side of the Force, but I was the one who lived half his life as Sith.” Luke, Yoda and Obi-Wan looked at each other uncomfortably. He was right.

“Where do you think we should start, father?”

Anakin pointed to a different land mass – at the western edge, close to the large body of water that seemed to envelop the planet. “You know, I’d really think that with a planet so full of water, it would have a society of more water-based life forms.” He shrugged. “But whatever. This is where you want to go. There’s a huge mass of Dark energy here, but I can also sense a little bit of Light, as well. If we want answers, we’ll need whoever they are.”

The others nodded. Even Artoo beeped approvingly. “Very well,” Obi-Wan said, “But we’ll need to first enter the planet’s atmosphere without the other ships noticing our presence _and_ avoid whatever planetary defense systems this planet might have.”

“Are you kidding me?” Anakin scoffed. “My kid’s the best living pilot in the galaxy. He’ll get us through, no problem.” He grinned as his son, who blushed in response to the praise. “And hey, if he screws up, we’re already dead.”

Well, that wasn’t too comforting to hear.

Luke pursed his lips as he gazed at the ship’s controls. He certainly had gone through worse. This should be a piece of cake.

* * *

“ _Siiiiiith_ !” Luke yelled as he pulled up on the controls. He was coming in too hot! Anakin and the others were nowhere to be found (probably planning on how to bury Luke’s body without any ability to touch the living) and Artoo was no help, screeching as panicked as Luke felt.

The bridge started to get _hot_. Luke was glad he had put more energy in the stealth generators, but now he was worried about the _shield_ generators. Hopefully, the organics on the planet assumed his ship was just some meteor.

“Artoo, put ten percent of the stealth generator’s power into the shields!” Luke yelled out as he continued to yank up on the steers. “Otherwise we’ll be nothing but ash when we reach the surface!”

The ship’s descent began to slow as Luke worked the controls, and Artoo’s hurried movements got the shield generators a little more power. Luke had some room to breathe. They were still coming in fast, but at least he wouldn’t die from the crash.

Luke had enough time to scan the nearby life as his ship fell. A very oxygen-heavy atmosphere, so the air would be breathable. There was plenty of intelligent life – cities sprawled across the planet, especially from what he could see of just this one land mass. It was nothing like Coruscant, but still impressive in its own right.

These life forms really _were_ more primitive – there were no landing pads that Luke could see. He was going to have to settle down away from the public eye, then. He had no idea what the life forms on this planet were like. He located a spot not too far from where he wanted to go – a large forested area with enough cover that he was confident his ship wouldn’t be found. He directed the controls to where he needed to go, and let the ship fall less-than gracefully to its landing point. There wasn’t much else he could do besides pray to the Force that his ship wouldn’t be damaged too badly.

Luke bit back a sigh and pull the controls up one last time for his final descent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a ton of this written out already, and it's so tempting to just publish everything I have at the moment, but I want to actually finish the fic before I worry about that. I want to have at least one other finished story arc, yeah?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke has to deal with a lot more crap than he bargained for.

The ship hissed loudly. Luke had not been knocked out from the landing, but he had been dazed from the impact. Artoo was beeping excitedly as he hurried around the ship, quickly fixing what he could. All the noise faded into a strange blur as Luke rubbed at his eyes, trying to clear his vision. The faint moon’s light was nowhere near bright enough to help get his bearings.

“Great job, kiddo! A landing to make me proud.” Anakin wiped a fake tear from his eye. “Come on, you’ve got to check the extent of the damage here.”

Luke groaned and rubbed at his forehead. “All right, all right. Give me a minute, please.”

Anakin shrugged. “Yoda and Obi-Wan are scouting out where we landed. So far, you managed to find a spot that’s pretty deserted. The only life forms they’ve run into seem to be peaceful.”

The living young man took a deep breath and surveyed his surroundings. His vision had mostly cleared, but there were still a few blurry spots he couldn’t quite make out. “How does the bridge look?” He asked.

Anakin _tsk_ ’ed. “It’s seen better days,” he responded. “I’m sure you could get this up and running again within a week or two, though. Provided you can find the right materials to fix your ship.”

Luke finally felt ready to check out the damage. He made his way out of the cockpit – which was mostly intact, with some sparking wires hanging out of the ceiling and other various smoking pieces of equipment – and worked his way to the medbay. Hopefully the single bacta tank was still intact. He had no idea how advanced the medical care on this planet was.

He had to shove open the doors to the medbay. That was not promising. As soon as he finished that struggle, he turned to the bacta tank. Thankfully, it was still intact, but it had a worrying crack in the transparisteel. He would only use it in case of an emergency.

The rest of the medbay seemed, for the most part, unharmed, so he quickly moved on to the galley.

The food prep and storage area seemed nearly untouched. He was comfortable in the knowledge that he’d have enough food to last him for a long time on this planet, as all the rations seemed to have made it through the crash.

Next stop – engine room.

It was a _mess_. Thankfully, Luke knew his way around engines, as did his father, so fixing the engines themselves wouldn’t be as much a horrible task as he had first thought. However, _getting_ the parts necessary to fix everything was going to prove a much more difficult task.

Satisfied with his current diagnosis, he left the engine room to check on the bunks. If even one bunk was spared, he would be happy – because he needed a _kriffing_ nap.

Obi-Wan was waiting for him at the entryway to one of the bunks. “This one’s all right,” he said, “But I would like to talk to you about what Yoda and I found outside the ship.”

Luke sighed and nodded. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”

“While you landed in a relatively safe place, I’m not sure how long it will remain undiscovered. I suggest we fix the ship as soon as possible, then move it to a more secure location.”

“All right, Master.” Luke nodded. He wasn’t going to get into the logistics of trying to fix a ship without any parts at the moment. “Was there anything else?”

“There is an odd section of the forest not too far from here. When Yoda and I found it, it seemed to slip away from our vision – whoever is there has put up an extremely strong shield. I suggest you and your droid check it out when the sun rises.”

Luke yawned and nodded again. “Okay, I understand. I’ll get ready to go after a little rest.”

Obi-Wan smiled softly and faded from Luke’s vision.

Gratefully, he fell into the bunk mattress and let unconsciousness hit him like a bag full of duracrete.

* * *

< _Tobias_. >

No response.

< _Tobias, something worrying has happened_. >

< _Uugh_ ,> came a groggy reply, < _What is it?_ >

< _I fear that the Yeerks may have discovered the hidden valley_. >

< _What?!_ > The voice was no longer groggy. The red-tailed hawk sprung out of his nest and swooped down to the young alien who stood at the base of his tree. < _Why didn’t you say so earlier?_ >

Ax swiveled his eyestalks around nervously. < _I did not think that it was the Yeerks at first. I thought it was just a meteor. But then I remembered that there was no scheduled meteor shower this evening_. >

The hawk grumbled with his mind’s voice and flapped his wings to gain some altitude. < _Fine. We have to get there fast. Do you know where it is?_ >

Ax nodded. < _I’ll show you the way_. > With that, the blue-furred alien began to shrink.

A few minutes later, the red-tailed hawk and northern harrier flew across the night sky.

< _You’re not usually the type to write something off so easily_ ,> Tobias said, < _What made you think it was just a meteor?_ >

Ax was silent for a few moments. < _I do not know. I had… a feeling. That whatever crashed there would not be harmful. I came to my senses later. I hope that my lapse in judgment does not end the lives of our friends_. >

Tobias sighed. <… _I think they’ll be okay. They’re strong_. >

They flew in silence a few minutes more. < _We should hurry_. > Tobias said. Ax flapped his wings faster in a silent agreement.

Not much later, the two came across the scene of the crash.

< _Oh_. > Ax said. He sounded worried.

< _What?_ > Tobias asked. < _It looks… really damaged. Whoever landed here isn’t getting back into the air easily_. >

< _It’s not that_ ,> Ax responded quietly. < _I’ve never seen this type of ship in my life_. >

< _Maybe it’s a new model?_ >

< _No, it’s clear this ship has been spaceworthy for quite some time_. >

The two birds of prey landed on nearby branches. < _I don’t think anyone has left the wreckage. I don’t see any footprints_. > Tobias inferred. < _Do you think they’re dead?_ >

< _No_. >

< _Yeah, neither do I_. > Tobias clicked his tongue. < _You keep watch. I’m going to tell Jake. We should probably have some sort of surveillance on this thing until whatever’s in it decides to come out_. >

Tobias stretched his wings out and took off. < _You should probably change into something more conspicuous_. >

With Ax behind him, the young man (or would it be young hawk?) sped towards his friend’s home. As soon as he knew he was in range, he blasted a private message to Jake.

< _Listen, Ax and I found something really weird. It’s a ship, but Ax says he’s never seen anything like it before. It crashed right next to the Hork-Bajir valley, but no one’s come out of it yet_. >

Tobias landed on the tree next to Jake’s window. Luckily, the young man was awake at this time of night – probably another nightmare – and opened the window for him. < _Thanks_. >

“Is Ax still at the crash site?” Jake asked quietly. Tobias nodded to the best of his hawk abilities.

< _Yeah. I can take you there if you want._ >

The human paused, then shook his head. “No, not right now. I trust you and Ax have it covered. I’ll call a group meeting after school tomorrow.”

< _All right. I’ll go tell Ax_. >

Jake opened the window for his friend and watched the hawk fly into the night.

He closed the window, then sank back down onto his floor.

He couldn’t sleep. The dreams were too vivid.

* * *

“Hey, Luke?” Anakin’s voice broke through his son’s sleepy haze. “It’s light out. And we have some curious visitors you might want to check out.”

Luke blinked his eyes open. He was in the bunk, so he was careful to slowly sit up so as not to hit his head on the low ceiling. “When did they show up?”

“Not too long after you fell asleep. It’s been almost a full cycle, but we all decided you needed the rest.”

Luke snorted. He was certain his father had force the other two ghosts to let him sleep in. “Thank you, father.”

“No problem. You really should check those presences out, though. Very interesting.”

Luke groaned and rubbed at his eyes. He sat up straight and closed his eyes. Then, he began to reach out with the Force and sense all nearby life forms.

There was his father, who was like a bright light, and the other two ghosts, who were slightly further away. The ship itself seemed to be a life form in its own right, as a flickering gray presence that surrounded the young Jedi and his friends. Artoo was powered down at a charging unit, his own gray color muted at the moment.

Luke took a deep breath and expanded his thoughts. The immediate area surrounding the ship had all the expected feelings – various bugs and birds that skittered about the natural wildlife. However, there was a strange push just outside his thoughts. He expanded just a bit further, and then –

There were two shining blue beings, sitting on a tree branch not too far from the ship. Luke frowned curiously. The cities he had seen had not given him any reason to think this planet’s life forms would be so small.

He wondered, dimly, if they spoke Basic. Or _any_ language he could translate.

“I see them.” He said to his father. “I suppose they are keeping watch on the ship?”

“Yeah, I _suppose_ so.” Anakin shrugged. “I think we landed close to something they want to hide. All the more reason to check it out!”

“We should at least let them know we mean no harm, first.” Luke said, with a hint of annoyance. “Do I look presentable?”

Anakin took an inquisitive look. “Brush your hair… and your teeth, while you’re at it.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything starts to come together.

< _Ax! I think I can see some movement!_ > Tobias called out excitedly. He preened his feathers to keep from looking too conspicuous.

Ax, a crow on a nearby branch, hopped closer to his nephew. < _What can you see?_ >

< _Um, it looks like… one guy. He’s got some weird clothes on. I can only see a little bit through a little window, but it looks like he’s just woken up. Is he… talking to someone?_ >

The guy peered out the window – and immediately his eyes went straight to Tobias. Before the hawk could panic, the man’s gaze zipped past him and around the rest of the clearing. He only stayed by the window for a moment; he was quick to leave the room that Tobias could see him in.

< _I have no idea what we’re facing, Ax_. > He fluffed out his feathers. < _But he looks like a regular human guy_. >

< _That is what all human controllers look like_. > Ax responded. < _I was hoping whoever was in the ship would at least wait until after our meeting to show himself_. >

< _I think their meeting is about to start anyways_ ,> Tobias began, < _I can rush to Cassie’s barn and get backup._ >

Ax nodded. < _Please do that_. > Without another word, Tobias was off once more.

Ax settled himself on his branch and kept a close eye on the strange ship. There was something _more_ to this stranger that he couldn’t quite understand.

~

Luke felt one of the bright blue presences speed off. He sat at a table in the galley, half a ration stick in his hand. Obi-Wan and Anakin were talking quietly nearby. Artoo, finished charging, sat next to Luke and beeped amicably.

Luke frowned as he surveyed the scene before him. Something was missing.

“Where’s Yoda?”

Obi-Wan turned to the young Skywalker, his face guilty. “Last night, he decided to try and get back to Coruscant, to let your family know where you are. He just got back a few moments ago.”

“I told him not to go, but he insisted!” Anakin interjected. “He’s a stubborn old codge and always has been.”

Luke shook his head and smiled. “That’s all right. I have to make sure to thank him when he returns.”

Obi-Wan made a disgruntled face. “Yoda can still maintain contact with us from where he is, and from what he’s told us…”

Luke tilted his head as he took another bite from the ration stick. “What is it?”

“Han and Leia are not taking the news well.”

Luke nodded. “That’s to be expected.”

Anakin started to fidget.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat. “Leia is cursing up a storm.”

“That’s Leia for you.” Luke shrugged.

Anakin found something absolutely fascinating within the mechanics of his ghostly metal arm.

“Han has gone to work on the Millennium Falcon…” Obi-Wan said cautiously.

Luke chewed thoughtfully. “Yeah, that ship does offer him a lot of comfort.”

Anakin couldn’t take it any more. “They’re packing their bags and trying to find their way here now!” He burst out.

Luke choked on his food. “It will take them _months_ to get here!” He spluttered. “ _If_ they can even find the exact wormhole _we_ found!”

“It’s like weeks have already passed since we went through the worm hole! Leia and Han were worried to death when they hadn’t heard from you.” Anakin exclaimed. “I think regardless if Yoda had shown up, they would have been on their way to find you already.”

Luke groaned and shook his head. “There’s no way they’ll be able to find us.”

Obi-Wan pinched his brow, as if he was getting a headache. “Yoda wants me to tell you that Han told him to tell me to tell you that you shouldn’t worry.”

Anakin and Luke shared a look of incredulity. “And what does _Yoda_ say about that?”

Obi-Wan sighed and waved a hand dismissively. “He gave me that little giggle and told me it would all be fine as long as we trust in the Force.”

Anakin snorted in frustration. “I thought that being dead would mean we could _cut_ the mystic bantha fodder.”

“You know Yoda’s always loved that part of being a Master,” Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, “It’s going to take a lot more than being dead to stop that.”

“Well,” Luke said as he stood up from the table, “I plan on being back before they can make the mistake of coming here. You ready, Artoo?”

The little droid whirred enthusiastically and gently bumped into Luke’s leg. “Thought so. Either of you want to come with?” He invited the other two ghosts, who looked sheepishly at each other.

“We wanted to stay behind and catch up.” Anakin said. “I still haven’t finished apologizing for killing him.”

Luke looked between the two of them and uncomfortably shuffled his feet. With his father so uncharacteristically charismatic, sometimes he forgot that Anakin used to be the most terrifying enforcer the galaxy had ever seen.

“… Right. Let’s go, Artoo.”

The droid beeped again and followed Luke to the exit of the ship.

~

< _Tobias, I would request that you hurry_. >

< _We’re going double-time here!_ > The hawk panted. < _We’ll be there soon!_ >

< _The creature is leaving the ship. And he has_ …> Ax’s voice trailed off.

< _Ax?_ > Tobias called out. < _Guys, he’s not responding_. >

< _He’ll just have to hold on until we get there_. > Jake replied grimly from the body of a peregrine falcon. < _We can’t help him if we panic_. >

< _I’m all right_ ,> Ax called out. < _I was merely stunned for a moment. I believe that this human is more technologically advanced than even_ my _people_. >

That certainly stunned the rest of the group. < _Don’t confront him about anything yet._ > Jake demanded. < _I think I can see the landing site from here_. >

Jake swooped up to get a better view. < _Wow._ >

Tobias sped ahead. < _Yeah, it’s weird, we know. We don’t have time to gawk!_ >

< _Did someone piss in your breakfast mouse or something?_ > Marco asked irritably. < _We’ll get there when we get there_. >

Tobias huffed and made no move to reply. He was closest, and as a result was the first to swoop down near Ax. The rest of the team – Jake, Marco, Cassie and Rachel – split up to various vantage points around the ship.

There was a young man in the clearing. He was facing the ship, one hand on his hip and the other holding his chin. He was inspecting the damage done by the trees during the crash.

Next to him, a metal _thing_ at the height of his waist beeped amicably as it gently nudged the broken ship.

“Yeah, we’ll need to find some extra parts for the hull, too.” He said quietly. He turned around and smiled. “I don’t suppose we’ll get any help from the locals, will we?”

< _Is he talking to us?_ > Cassie wondered.

< _Don’t be ridiculous_. > Rachel retorted. < _Technologically advanced or not, the Yeerks failed at detecting us in morph. There’s no way they could have restarted and finished that project without us catching wind of it_. >

The young man tapped his robot lovingly on the – head? – and walked away from the ship.

Right in the direction of the hidden Hork-Bajir valley.

Jake quickly spurred into action. < _Tobias, warn the valley. Everyone else, battle morphs. If he finds this out, we have to subdue him in any way_. >

Tobias shot off the branch and flew towards the valley. He felt no sense of wonder as he passed the strange energy that hid it from view, only barely-restrained panic. < _Toby!_ > He yelled out. < _Toby, you need to gather everyone and prepare for a potential evacuation_. >

The young Seer, who had been chatting with her family, nodded and repeated Tobias’s instructions.

The usually relaxed atmosphere of the hidden valley tensed immediately once everyone was aware of the imminent danger. Parents picked their children up and left for the far edge of the valley. Hork-Bajir with more experience fighting decided to stay back and fight the potential threat – Toby was one of these Hork-Bajir.

Each being tensed and waited. It wouldn't be too long before they were found out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how long I want these chapters, so sorry for the fluctuating lengths! D:  
> I'll work on uploading these faster, sorry for the long wait.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything comes to a head as the first contact is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter so far because I like to separate certain times into different chapters if they're long enough. This is all Luke, all the time. So, you know, take that for what you will.

Luke stifled another smile as one of the birds zipped away in the direction he walked. So there _was_ something being hidden nearby. He noticed the other five birds disappear into the wood, and was aware of their strange, shifting presence.

He could feel a strange pull away from the direction he walked. Artoo did not feel any similar inclinations and instead trundled along happily in a straight line. Luke had to focus intently on Artoo’s shiny dome head in order to stay on the right path. He planted both feet into the ground and took a deep breath. “Artoo, wait.” The droid was happy to comply.

He decided to let the Force guide him forward. He closed his eyes, took one step, then another. He could smell the fresh, crisp air and hear the leaves whistling quietly in the afternoon air. He could hear his droid’s quiet whirring as they walked. He could feel the cool breeze on his cheeks.

It was certainly confusing when he could suddenly hear many more breaths than just his own. He stopped, and let his consciousness expand – before him were at least ten glowing green presences. He could tell even without opening his eyes that whoever they were, they were peaceful, but not afraid to fight.

He held up his hands and kept his eyes closed. “I mean you no harm.” He said quietly. “I am here to try and fix my ship.”

“Why are your eyes closed?” A thick, accented voice asked him. He shrugged, quietly grateful to the Force that these creatures could speak Basic.

“I find that if I can’t see who I’m speaking to, I don’t let bias get in the way. I can see all I need just fine.”

< _We really don’t like to take an enemy down with his eyes closed_. > Came a different voice – this one in his head! < _But that doesn’t mean we won’t_. >

Luke nodded. “Very well.” He opened his eyes.

The trees surrounding him were lovely. They were full of life and positive energy that he could feel practically flowing to him. How a world with such a wonderful Force presence could become so Dark, he had no idea.

He focused on the beings in front of him. The familiar blue presence – the bird he had seen fly away earlier – was on a low-hanging branch. He assumed that’s where the thought-speech had come from. The creature in front of him was certainly an alien species, with green mottled skin and sharp, bark-stained blades all over. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “I knew I’d be finding new species, but I never actually think I came to terms with the idea.” He said, almost to himself. Artoo booped humorlessly at him. He elbowed his old friend, as if to say ‘be kind to the nice alien species,’ then nodded respectfully at what he assumed was the leader. “Hello. My name is Luke Skywalker. This is my droid, R2-D2. We’re not sure if you have any spare bits around, but we’d appreciate it if you could direct us to anywhere that might sell any ship repair parts.”

“How did you find us?” The alien growled.

“The Force guided me here.” He said simply. “I can listen to it better when my eyes are closed.”

< _The ‘Force’? Is that what you call your Yeerk?_ > Luke looked up to the hawk.

“I don’t know what a Yeerk is, I’m afraid.” He responded. He turned to the first alien creature. “I’m sorry, may I ask what your species is called?”

The green alien raised one bladed hand into the air. “We are the Hork-Bajir,” it said, “And we will not go back to Yeerk enslavement.”

Luke backed away slowly. “Woah, I don’t know what these ‘Yeerk’ are. Could you tell me that much, before we start attacking each other?”

< _Yeerks are a race that thrives off of enslavement_. > The bird growled. < _They slither into your ears, wrap themselves around your brain, and take complete control over your entire body_. >

Luke pursed his lips. “Interesting. Are they natural to this planet?”

“No. They invaded Earth, and brought us with them.” The first Hork-Bajir spoke. “Our entire species was enslaved by the Yeerks.”

Luke’s eyes widened. Yes, then this strange alien species must certainly have been the cause of the Dark Force’s strength.

 “Woah, that’s fucked up.” The disembodied voice came from behind Luke. The young Jedi flipped around with a worried expression.

“ _Anakin!_ ” He reprimanded. “I thought you were catching up with Obi-Wan!”

“We did. Then we got bored.” Anakin offered.

“Anakin wanted to see how well you worked on your own.” Obi-Wan said with a sigh. “If you want my opinion, you’ve been doing just fine.”

< _Who’s talking?_ > Came a new voice. < _Show yourselves!_ >

Five new animals emerged from the undergrowth – this was not a surprise to Luke, who had been able to sense them shortly after he opened his eyes. “They’re easy to see if you know what to look for,” he said. He was surprised that the children heard them - it took a powerful connection to the Force to hear them if they were not talking directly to you.

“Great. My kid’s going to be a vague piece of Sith, too.”

< _Listen, I don’t get what’s happening, but we_ can’t _let you leave this place with the knowledge you have_. > The large orange and black striped feline prowled forward.

“Uh oh,” Anakin grinned, “Better not put them in the Bacta tank after this.”

Luke shook his head. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

< _You don’t have much of a choice, buddy_. > A female’s voice came from a large brown semi-bipedal creature.

“There is _always_ a choice.”

The feline leapt at him, large claws outstretched.

Ah, _Sith_.

Luke ignited his lightsaber in the blink of an eye. The feline’s roar ended in a screech of anguish. A flash of black and orange flew in two directions.

The feline limped into a fighting position, missing its front left paw.

Artoo screeched in alarm and rolled behind Luke.

“I said I didn’t want to hurt you,” Luke said, “So please, lay down your anger. I can heal your friend if –“

The giant brown beast roared in anger as it rushed toward him. Luke frowned, and with another quick twist of his blade, the creature was down two of four limbs.

“Please, if you would just _listen_ to me-“

A dark gray canine pounced on him – its steps had been too silent for Luke to pick up on. He huffed in annoyance and used a Force push to slam the creature into the trunk of a nearby tree. It fell to the ground, stunned.

The bird he had seen before was diving straight down at him. He used another Force push to send it back into the air.

“ _Stop!_ ” He yelled, exerting a Force-imbued command. The large black ape-like animal with meaty fists paused halfway through a punch to Luke’s face.

The strange, blue-furred equine curled its tail in annoyance. Its tail was long and flexible, with a dangerous-looking blade at the end of it.

“Oh, _that_ one looks like it might prove a challenge.” Anakin’s voice whispered sarcastically.

“Shut up,” Luke grumbled, “I don’t want to fight them.” He took another deep breath and used a gentle Force push to send the large meaty ape a safe distance away from him. He cleared his throat. “Please. Let’s just talk.”

< _We don’t have much of a choice, do we?_ > The ape snapped at him.

“It was either that or cut off more limbs. I’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime.” He _really_ hoped these life-forms had good medical treatments. “I will release you if you promise not to come at me again. I will even do my best to heal you, although my Bacta tank can only hold one of you at a time.”

< _Bacta-what?_ > Came from the direction of the canine. Luke paled.

“Oh dear.”

“I wouldn’t worry, kid. They don’t seem too torn up about the lost limbs. Maybe they have some kind of special regeneration?” Anakin was right next to him. Look gave his father a dry look before returning his attention to the animals.

“Bacta is a healing substance. When you are gravely injured, you are placed in a Bacta tank to preserve your vitals and heal your body.” He shivered, remembering the last time he was in one. “It’s not pleasant, but it beats dying.”

< _Why would you offer to heal us?_ > The feline asked. < _We just tried to kill you_. >

Luke smiled again, and looked at his father. “Everyone deserves a second chance.”

The feline looked to the other members of his group, still nursing the stump of his foot. < _I think we’ve got to risk it_. >

< _Are you serious?_ > The large black creature yelled. < _We have no idea who or what this thing is_. >

The feline gave the other creature a blank look. < _Based on what we've seen so far, how can we be sure he doesn't already know?_ >

The canine padded forward. < _He offered to heal us_. > She said. < _Would a Yeerk do that?_ >

Each creature was silent as they pondered the question. < _All right. Everyone, demorph_. >

With that, four of the five creatures began to… _shift_.

Luke aptly considered the entire ordeal grisly, but he kept his thoughts to himself as he watched each of the creatures return to other forms. While it was disgusting, he found a strange sense of fascination about it, as well – what power in the Force could allow one to change their body in such ways?

It was over in a few minutes. Four humans stood around him in what looked like a bunch of different clothes. Luke had never seen some of the textures before. “Did you know that was possible?” He directed this question at Obi-Wan, who shrugged.   
“No. I guess I could ask Yoda, but something tells me he’s never seen anything like it, either.”

The young man – no, the _boy_ – who had previously been the feline, stepped forward. “My name is Jake.” He raised his left hand – oh! It healed! – to shake Luke’s. Luke showed his mechanical arm and chuckled.

“Luke Skywalker. I wasn’t so lucky.” He said as he shook the boy’s hand. Jake had a strange look on his face as he stepped away from Luke.

The other humans – and to _think_ , in a galaxy so far away, there were _still_ humans populating unknown planets – introduced themselves as well. It was clear through the introductions that Jake was the leader of the group.

The bird swooped down and landed in the branch he had first sat in. < _My name is Tobias_. > He said. < _I’d shake your hand, but…_ >

Luke shook his head. “You don’t have to. It’s only a formality.”

The blue-furred equine stepped forward and reached out a delicate, many-fingered hand. < _Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill_. > He said as he gently shook Luke’s mechanical hand. < _Your prosthetic is amazing. I wouldn’t have noticed it was if I hadn’t_ -> Luke quickly pulled his hand back and blushed. < _Oh_ , _I’m sorry_. >

Luke blinked nervously and shrugged. “It’s still a bit of a touchy subject.” He cleared his throat and regained his composure. “I was curious, what species are you?”

< _I am an Andalite_. > The alien said proudly. < _We have explored many worlds and created many of the current technology’s inventions. However, I’ve never seen anything like your ship. Your technology is astounding. What species did you model it after?_ >

Luke couldn’t help it – he laughed. “ _That_ thing? She’s just an old freighter. I’m not even sure if it’s modeled after any specific design. It was an unneeded ship leftover from the Empire, so I kind of remodeled it to fit my tastes.”

< _You worked on that ship?_ > Aximili asked. The two stalk-eyes widened in surprise. Luke raised one eyebrow.

“Yes, I did. I had my father assist me with more difficult restoration efforts, like getting the hyperdrive to work, but most of the luxury on board that ship was my original design.”

The alien looked astounded. The young man who had introduced himself as Marco chuckled loudly.

“Looks like you Andalites _aren’t_ God’s gift to the galaxy, are you?” He snorted and turned to Luke – although the boy had been laughing, he had a look of darkness in his eye that sent a chill down Luke’s spine. “You’re funny. But you’re still a potential threat.”

Jake nodded in agreement. “We can’t let you leave. And considering the threat you pose, we might have to take your… _whatever_ that thing is.” He gestured to Luke’s lightsaber.

The Jedi shrugged. “I would like to hold onto it, but if you need to earn my trust, I’ll turn it over to you. Just try not to lose it, please.” He smiled softly as he unclipped his lightsaber from his belt. He handed it to Jake, who held onto it with cautious, gentle fingers. “I suppose I will stay here, then?”

Jake nodded. “You can go back to your ship to get supplies, but at least one of us will have to go with you.”

Luke knew he was lying. All six of them would keep a close eye on him no matter where he went. “Very well. I suppose it’s time to answer some questions, then?” He turned to look upon the rest of the humans.

“What was that thing you did?” The blonde girl, Rachel, was the first to say something. “When you shoved Cassie into the tree, or Tobias backwards. Is it a force field?”

Luke’s smile brightened. “That was the Force. In fact, that’s how I knew where you all were. You all give off a very bright blue light.”

Cassie frowned. “Force? I don’t understand.”

Luke scrunched his eyebrows, deep in thought for a few moments. He cleared his throat and held his hands up. “The Force is… essentially, it is everything.” He waved his hand, and a rock from underneath Cassie’s feet flew into his palm. The girl jumped in surprise, but kept a clear gaze on the Jedi. “It is in you, and me, and these Hork-Bajir. It is in the trees, the sky, and the oceans. It flows between us, connecting every living thing in the galaxy.” He dropped the rock at his feet. “Certain beings are born with the ability to use the Force. I am one such being.” He bit his lip. Should he tell these children that they, too, were Force-sensitive?

No. Not yet. He could see it in their collective Force signatures, they were not ready to be trained in the ways of the Force. They had another task to accomplish.

“Kind of like Shintoism. Everything has a soul.” Cassie said thoughtfully.

“I wouldn’t know,” Luke said. “I am not familiar with this planet’s religion.”

Rachel huffed. “Religions. As in, multiple.”

“Oh, well, that just goes to show I have a lot to learn about this planet.” Luke said sheepishly. “Would you mind teaching me?”

Marco narrowed his eyes. “Why would you not know? I thought humans only came from Earth.”

It was Luke’s turn to chuckle. “Oh, no, absolutely not. No one knows for sure where we all came from. But humans are one of the most populous species in the galaxy, next to Twi'leks and Rodians. I honestly shouldn’t be surprised there are humans so far away from explored space. We get everywhere sooner or later.”

< _What about evolution?_ > Tobias asked. < _In school, we were taught that humans evolved from early mammals_. >

Luke shrugged. “I wouldn’t know your planet’s history. Maybe you did naturally evolve here, maybe you didn’t.”

Marco groaned. “Great. This guy’s a scientologist.”

“I don’t know what a scientologist is,” Luke frowned. “I am a Jedi.”

Anakin patted his son on the back. Well, he _pretended_ to. “I don’t think they know what that means, either.” He said knowingly. “I think you’ve got this under control. We’ll wait back at the ship.”

Luke nodded discreetly at his father to let him know he had heard.

Artoo beeped curiously at Ax. The Andalite stepped back.

< _What is that droid doing?_ > He asked, stalk eyes trained on Luke.

“Artoo is my astromech droid. He was wondering how you could be an organic, with no visible way of processing nutrients.”

< _Machines cannot wonder_. > Ax said. < _It is beyond their programming_. >

Artoo let out a shrill whistle of anger and raced towards Ax. Luke stopped the renegade astromech a few feet from the Andalite. Artoo strained against the Force hold Luke had on him for a moment before deciding it was useless.

“He doesn’t get his memory wiped as often as he should. Droids tend to develop their own personalities over time.” Luke said, as if that was the best possible explanation. “I wouldn’t talk like that around him too much, though. He’s feisty.”

The Andalite nodded. All four eyes were trained on the little droid. < _Interesting_. >

The questions continued for a few hours. Each of the children had something to ask, and it seemed like Luke’s answers only gave them more questions. He should have expected this – while these children were smart, there was much they did not know about the vastness of the galaxy. Luke was interested in expanding their knowledge even further.

They had all been sat around a large empty fire pit – Toby, the Hork-Bajir ‘Seer’, sat with them and listened to Luke talk.

Luke was in the middle of explaining his lightsaber when he felt it.

A dark chill seeped into the air. Anakin appeared at his shoulder, his face tense.

“Something’s coming to the ship. You need to get your supplies out _now_.”

Luke nodded. He stood up and brushed off his pants. “We have to go now. I have a feeling you want to keep your identities from enemies a secret. I suggest shifting now so you are done before we reach my ship.”

The younglings looked at each other in confusion, but upon hearing the calm tone in Luke’s voice shift to something darker, they quickly separated and started shifting.

< _Why now?_ > Marco asked. < _We have plenty of time before dark_. >

“Something is approaching my ship. Artoo, I want you to stay here. Jake, would you please give me my lightsaber?” Artoo beeped agreeably and rolled towards Toby.

The orange and black feline – now known to Luke as a _tiger_ – picked up the weapon from beside the fire pit. Without looking, Luke pulled the lightsaber from Jake’s mouth to his hand. He grimaced at the saliva on the hilt and brushed off one hand on his shirt.

“I want to try and solve this peacefully,” Luke began, “but based on the descriptions of Yeerk behavior, I’m not sure diplomacy will work. I don’t want you to have to fight for me.”

He walked briskly towards the direction of his ship. “I have a plan, but I need to get there as soon as possible. Please try to keep up.”

< _Shouldn’t we be saying that to you?_ > Marco asked, humor coloring his voice.

“No,” Luke said, and shot off faster than any human ever had. Jake let out a surprised cry and dug his claws into the soft earth, pulling forward to, as Luke said, try to keep up.

It wasn’t long before the seven reached Luke’s ship. Luke had arrived first, Jake not far behind him. The rest gathered behind the two clear leaders and waited.

“Aximili had said that his people’s technology is the best this side of the galaxy has to offer.” Luke stated, clearly not out of breath. “If wandering eyes found my ship, we would have a big problem. My ship’s shielding and cloaking technology are better than any of the ships outside this atmosphere. If those are the source of the Dark presence I’ve felt, then I cannot allow this technology into their hands.” He sighed. "I could have just used the ship's cloaking device, but unfortunately that got fried in the crash." He shook his head. "I've got to do everything the hard way, don't I?"

He closed his eyes and rooted his feet into the ground. He took a deep breath and went to work.

His ship was already partially submerged into the ground. He simply had to help it down a few more meters, then cover the rest up with as much brush as he could get. He grimaced as he thought about how much dirt would get in his ship, but quickly pushed the thought away.

He pushed the Force into the ground surrounding his ship, making more room for it to settle comfortable within the dirt. He moved the dirt under the surface to bury his ship even further, and whatever he took out from under his ship, he brought up and put on top of it.

This took a few tense minutes to accomplish, as Luke’s fine-tuned Force skills were not as deft as they could be.

Finally, his ship was low enough in the ground that he felt comfortable leaving. There was still a viewport on the surface big enough for him to crawl through into his ship when he needed to get supplies, but most of the ship was underground.

Luke knew he didn’t have much time left. He extended the Force around three different trees and pulled them hard out of the ground. He laid them out over his ship, hiding the viewport and anything else above ground. He exhaled sharply and took a step back to admire his work.

“Nicely done, Luke,” Obi-Wan nodded proudly. “I’m sure Yoda would be happy to see this, as well.”

“There’s no motivator quite like certain doom to make tasks go faster,” Luke smiled in response.

He turned to face the children – all who were staring at him with dumbfounded expressions. It was comical, almost, to see the various dangerous animals all in total shock. “I’m still not done yet. You should hide. Don’t come out unless I say so.”

< _What? No, we can’t leave you by yourself. You don’t know what these guys are capable of_. >

“That hasn’t stopped me any time before.” Luke responded solemnly. “Now hide! I know your senses aren’t honed yet, but they’re _right_  on top of us!” He said this with a despairing face as shooed the kids back into the undergrowth. Even if he wouldn’t train them as Jedi, not yet, he wanted them to at _least_ be able to better sense approaching enemies.

Just as Tobias – the last of them – disappeared into the trees, a large, insect-like ship touched down not far from Luke’s buried ship. The Jedi sat on the ground by the felled trees and closed his eyes. He extended the Force out to sense the creatures within the ship.

There were four – but there was something strange about them all. Two of the presences were much larger. One was a dull green, and the other an equally dull yellow. The sickly-looking colors made Luke feel uncomfortable. How could such creatures _move_ , let alone pilot a ship?

The other two presences were far smaller, and were nestled within the larger ones. Their colors were a dark, _dark_ gray, but much brighter than the larger beings.

So _these_ were the Yeerks Jake had talked about. Luke finally understood what the children were doing.

They were fighting a war.

The ship hissed as it opened and a small ramp extended from the door. The green presence – Luke knew as a Hork-Bajir – walked out first. The second was more insect-like than the Hork-Bajir, and when brushing closer against its Force presence, Luke felt barraged with a painful hunger. He wondered if the Yeerk had starved its host.

The Hork-Bajir and insect-species inspected the crash site. Luke knew he had done a haphazard job, but that was why he was sitting beside his fallen ship, waiting for the aliens to notice him.

It did not take long. The hungry insect skittered over to him and exclaimed something wildly in its language. The Hork-Bajir grunted and walked over to Luke, as well.

“What are you doing here?” The alien demanded in a harsh, broken garb. Luke smiled serenely and waved his hand.

“You see a rowdy camp set up,” He said, pushing the request into all four of the aliens’ minds.

The Hork-Bajir repeated him tonelessly. The insect rasped out what Luke thought was the same thing. “You found nothing worth reporting here,” he waited for their response, “and you will not remember me during your report. There is nothing left for you to see here.”

The aliens repeated him, word for word (as well as they could, anyway). They looked at each other briefly, caught in a moment of confusion, but shook their heads after a moment and quickly made their way back to the ship. Within minutes, it was out of sight.

“You may come out now.” Luke announced unnecessarily.

< _What the hell was that?_ > Rachel burst from the undergrowth, her bear form roaring in disbelief.

“The Force,” Luke said simply. “I told you, we are connected to each and every living thing in the galaxy.”

< _What does that_ mean _, though?_ > Marco asked impatiently. < _Can we be sure that they’re gone?_ >

“They really are gone. Their presences have left this area. You can… change back now.” He still wasn’t sure what it is they were, but he had a feeling their human forms were their true bodies.

< _We’d prefer to stay battle-ready, for now_. > Jake said quietly. < _But we_ would _like to know more about what you did._ >

“I’m not sure there is a way I can explain the Force to you, although… I may be able to _show_ you, if you are willing.”

Anakin had appeared again, a smug smile on his face. “This is practice for the real thing, kid. Good luck.” Luke grimaced in response to his father’s words.

“Do or do not, there is no try,” He murmured in response.

The children stared at him oddly, each one in a strange, animalistic way. < _Who are you talking to?_ > Tobias asked as he tilted his golden head.

“If I show you, you may be able to see him as well.” Luke responded. “He is someone who might help us out as well.”

Anakin waved his arms up. “Woah there, I can’t be much help for anybody right now. If you stick around here long enough, though, Han and Leia will get here in time to back you up.”

Luke raised a brow. “Do you really think that would help?” He shook his head and sighed, returning his attention to the children. “Right. Perhaps we should return to the valley?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke is so honest that it's hard to believe he'd hurt anyone. That's what the Animorphs don't like about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being gone for so long! I kind of got caught up with another idea I had, but now that I've finished that I think I'll continue working on this project. : 3

< _I wish I could say I think he’s crazy, but there’s no fucking way he could have moved those trees by himself_. > Rachel said in a private thought-speech bubble to the rest of the group. They were walking back to the Hork-Bajir valley with Luke. Since there wasn’t a time pressure on the man, he walked calmly with the Animorphs.

< _Those controllers shouldn’t have left so easily. How do we know that wasn’t planned?_ > Marco responded. < _Maybe he had help. Some new kind of technology?_ >

Jake shook his great furry head. < _No, I don’t think so. This guy is telling the truth_. >

< _How can you be sure?_ > Rachel responded harshly.

< _I can just… feel it_. > Jake said simply. < _It’s like I just know that he’s telling the truth_. >

< _You’re trusting your_ gut _on something like this?_ > Marco asked, incredulous. < _How many times has that gut feeling failed us in the past? We can’t trust him_. >

< _I know what Jake’s talking about_. > Cassie said. < _I feel it too. It feels like we were supposed to meet him._ >

< _Doesn’t that make you even_ more _suspicious?_ > Rachel demanded.

< _We could always lock him away for three days and wait to see what happens_. > Tobias suggested. < _For the record though, I have to say I agree with Jake and Cassie_. >

Jake sighed. < _We can drop Luke off in the Hork-Bajir valley and take his lightsaber back. I don’t think he can fight off all of the Hork-Bajir without that. We can vote on this later_. >

< _Prince Jake, I do not think it wise to leave him alone with the Hork-Bajir. If he truly did use a mind trick on the controllers, how do we know he won’t use it on them?_ >

< _This weekend we can keep watch from afar. We don’t know how far his senses go, so we’ll have to be sneaky_. > Jake said cautiously. < _Today’s Friday. By Monday, we should know if he’s a controller._ >

“This certainly is an odd silence.” Luke said, “It makes me wonder if something is happening that I’m not privy to.”

< _We’re discussing matters that don’t concern you_. > Rachel responded icily.

Luke was quiet for a moment, but shrugged. “All right. Do you mind if I ask some questions?”

Jake looked to Cassie. The wolf blinked. < _I suppose. We’ll answer what we can_. > He said after a quiet moment.

“How do you change forms so easily? I have never seen a creature in the galaxy who can do that.”

< _It’s a special morphing technology. That’s all we can say_. > Jake said slowly.

“Very well. Does that mean that the humans on this planet are not inherently capable of… morphing?”

< _No. We’re the only ones who can_. > Cassie responded.

“I see… why does Tobias speak like you, but not morph?” He looked up towards the bird in question, who faltered slightly in air.

< _I am trapped in this morph_. > He said quietly. < _I can still morph to other animals, but this is my permanent form._ >

“I am sorry to hear that.” Luke murmured.

< _’Sall right. My life as a human wasn’t much better_. >

< _Hey, don’t tell him your life story_ ,> Rachel said privately, < _He could use this against us_. >

< _He can’t learn much from me_. > Tobias responded. < _I’m a bird. I used to be human. Good luck finding_ me _in the wilderness. I look like any other hawk._ >

< _You’re just saying that because you trust him_. > Marco retorted. < _If you were really worried, none of you would be answering his questions_. >

Jake purposely bumped into his best friend. < _Fine, we’ll stop answering questions. We can continue this conversation later. We’re at the base, Tobias and Ax can take over for us for now._ >

He was right, they had just crested the edge of the illusion the Ellimist created.

“That’s interesting,” Luke gasped as he walked through the barrier, “No wonder I couldn’t see. This shielding technology is amazing; did the Andalites create it? Where’s the shield generator? I can’t sense it.”

There was an uncomfortable silence between the Animorphs until Rachel spoke up. < _That’s one of our trade secrets. We’re not telling you until we can trust you_. >

Luke nodded in understanding. “It’s all right, I understand. I know some of you wanted to discuss the Force, would you like to stick around and learn a little?”

< _No thanks. We have to get going_. > Marco said, glib, as he began to demorph. The others started on it as well. < _You can tell Toby all about it._ > Marco’s mouth formed from his gorilla face as he finished his morph. “She’s the only one who’d be able to make sense of it.”

Luke nodded, clearly thinking to himself. He smiled at something – probably some invisible person talking again, by the looks of it.

Jake was fully human when he asked Luke for his lightsaber. The man frowned a little but gracefully gave up his weapon.

A few minutes later, the Animorphs who had a home to go back to were in their various bird morphs again. < _See you tomorrow_. > Jake told the young man as he flapped his wings to get airborne, the lightsaber held tight in his talons. < _Tobias, I want you to stay nearby. You get first watch; Ax will come by later_. >

Luke waved them good-bye. Ax and Tobias, however, stayed behind.

Ax was the first to turn away. He took a few cautious steps, keeping his stalk eyes trained on Luke, but eventually broke into a gallop between the trees.

Artoo rushed to Luke and bumped into him. He beeped joyfully. Luke chuckled and patted the astromech’s chrome head.

“Nice to see you too, buddy. No, nobody got hurt.” He laughed loudly and walked over to the firepit.

Tobias, who was sat on a nearby branch, watched Luke and his droid chat amicably beside the now-lit pit. Toby approached him and extended a hand out, a sign of peace. Luke was clearly not afraid of the giant walking salad shooters, as he took her hand and shook it powerfully. He smiled brightly and sat beside the pit with other Hork-Bajir, and tried to make conversation.

Tobias watched as Luke discovered what Marco meant earlier. The hawk had assumed Luke would get tired of trying to communicate with the aliens, but he was surprised to discover the opposite. Luke smiled sadly as he listened to his new friends talk, as if their disjointed speech patterns were familiar.

Ever so often, Luke would look up to where Tobias was sitting. He would nod quietly before returning to his conversations with various Hork-Bajir.

It was not too long before Tobias broke.

< _I’d like to learn_. > He said quietly. Luke paused for a moment, as if he was considering possibilities. Then, he placed one hand on the current Hork-Bajir’s shoulder and said something Tobias couldn’t make out. The giant alien nodded and turned to one of his other friends.

Luke stood up, brushed the dirt off of his pants, and walked over to the red-tailed hawk.

“All right,” Luke looked up at Tobias, “Where would you like to start?”

* * *

Tobias felt a strange tightness in his breast. < _Would someone like me be able to use it?_ >

Luke narrowed his eyes at Tobias. “I don’t see why not. The Force connects all living beings. I don’t know how to relate the teachings to creatures with… _relatable_ features, though. Is there any form you have that is similar to a human?”

Tobias closed his raptor eyes. < _Yes_ ,> he said at last, < _My old human body. I can only be in it for two hours, though_. >

Luke nodded. “I won’t need two hours.”

Tobias hopped down to the ground and began to morph.

Luke watched in fascination. He was amazed with the idea. As Tobias’ human form emerged from that of the hawk’s, Luke felt a pang of nostalgia.

_He looks like I did_.

Dirty blonde hair fell across bright blue eyes. Luke bit his lip and smiled at the boy. “It’s nice to meet you, Tobias.” Luke said as he reached out a hand.

The boy took his hand carefully and shook it. Luke noticed his motor control seemed to be lacking – he supposed that’s what would happen if you spent the majority of time as a completely nonhuman animal. “Will you sit with me here?” Luke sank to the ground, his legs crossed, and patted the area next to him. Tobias looked cautiously at it before settling down. Luke took a deep breath.

“I want to show you something. It’s very clear to me that you have a powerful Force presence, as your friends do. However, it seems that you do not know how to feel it.” Luke closed his eyes and breathed out his nose. “Try to relax here.”

Tobias crossed his legs the way he saw Luke’s. He was wary about closing his eyes, but tried anyway. He took a deep breath and began to fidget.

“It takes a while to relax the first time.” Luke said after a minute. “Just get comfortable, and I will keep going.”

Tobias cleared his throat as he found a position more comfortable He opened his eyes to scan the area for potential threats, a habit that has saved his life many times. Luke took another deep breath.

“Keep your eyes closed, Tobias.” Luke whispered.

Tobias shivered when Luke called his name. How had he even known Tobias’ eyes were open? He quickly did as the man said, and tried not to feel too nervous.

“If you ignore the sense of sight, you will open yourself up to much more.” Luke continued. “In an ironic way, you may even be able to see _better_ than you did before.” He breathed in deeply. “Find the bright Light within yourself and stretch it out.”

Tobias frowned. What was Luke talking about? He took a deep breath of his own and focused on what he felt. In the blackness of his own mind, he saw whatever shadows fell across his eyelids. The firelight from the pit danced behind his eyelids, which showed him bright flashes and bursts of orange. He focused on the flickering colors and let them wash him away, deeper down into himself.

He could see… _something_. It was bright, and glowing, and… blue?

“It is a part of you, just as your heart and brain are a part of you.” Luke said calmly, as if he could see everything happening in Tobias’ mind. “Embrace it. Let the Light wash over you, and listen to the Force.” Tobias was sure he could hear a hint of excitement in the older man’s voice.

He tried to do as Luke said. He – he wasn’t sure how to describe it – _moved_ towards the bright blue light, and the bright blue light moved towards him, until they met with a silent embrace that opened Tobias up to the entire _world_. He could see everything around him without opening his eyes. The fire danced in his mind, with the Hork-Bajir standing around it. He could see Luke, sitting next to him with a proud grin on his face. He saw Toby watching them, with a strange, curious glimmer in her eyes. He could even see himself, sitting calmly next to Luke, with a shocked expression on his face. He could see everything so _vividly_ , as if his eyes were really open. It was better than when they were open, better than a hawk’s vision, better than any morph’s vision. He could see _everything_ , and everything _connected_. The Hork-Bajir were tied to the trees with bright gold energy flowing between them, his connection with Luke was _radiant_ ; everything had golden tendrils connecting it to everything else, and it was _beautiful_.

“This is the Force.” Luke said simply.

Tobias understood.

He even saw a strange presence behind Luke – a pale blue man with nostalgic eyes, watching the two of them proudly. He noticed Tobias’ attention and waved at the boy. Tobias’ jaw dropped in surprise.

“Tobias, this is my father.” Luke mentioned offhandedly, as if seeing a previously invisible man was no big deal.

“My name is Anakin Skywalker. Nice to meet you, too.” The older man chuckled to the dumbfounded boy.

“Tobias, you should come back to yourself now,” Luke said softly, “I think this is enough for one day.”

Tobias nodded. “How do I… stop it?”

Luke chuckled. “One day, with enough training, this is what you will always see.” He leaned forward and held onto Tobias’ shoulder blades. “But for now, take some more deep breaths. Focus on who _you_ are.”

So kind of like demorphing, then. Tobias nodded to himself and began to think about himself. His human body, so unfamiliar to him now, with all its appendages and hair and teeth and flesh. Its poor vision and inability to fly. Its weighted feeling, as if he were stuck on the ground.

He slowly opened his eyes – his real, human eyes – and turned to look at Luke.

“Thank you.” He said slowly. “Is that… what you see?”

Luke smiled. “I see much more than that.” At Tobias’ tilted head, he continued. “You have just tapped into your potential. I have been training for years. I have honed my senses and continue to do so every day. If you wish, you can do the same.”

Tobias nodded reverently. “I… I want to see more.”

“Feel free to visit me any time you wish.” Luke grinned. “I would love to teach you what I can.”

Tobias felt a pit of guilt yawn open in his stomach. He couldn’t visit Luke when any of the others watched him, so he’d have to visit during his own assigned duty. The fact that Jake had decided to spy on Luke, even after what he did for them, gave Tobias a sick feeling in his gut. But he couldn’t tell Luke, because Jake would inevitably find out.

“I already know.” Luke responded to Tobias’ thoughts. The boy scrambled backwards in surprise. “It’s not that hard to figure out what you all were talking about. You don’t trust me, so you want to keep watch on me. I promise I won’t make trouble for you or your friends. Watch me as long as you need.” He let out a laugh. “I wasn’t expecting you to come forward so quickly.”

Tobias blushed. “I don’t know why I did. But after living so long as a hawk, I’ve gotten used to my gut instinct.” Luke nodded in understanding.

“I would like to know if you can go into that state in your hawk form,” Luke said after a quiet minute, “I wonder, would you mind trying it later and telling me?”

The boy nodded quickly. “Yeah, sure. I should probably demorph now. I don’t know when Ax will come by and I don’t think he’d appreciate seeing me talking to casually with the potentially dangerous enemy.

He heard a laugh that didn’t come from Luke. Tobias narrowed his eyes and frowned. “What was that?”

Luke looked behind him. “I suppose you’re hearing Anakin. He was just laughing at the idea of me being a ‘potentially dangerous enemy’.”

“That’s right,” came the disembodied voice, “My kid’s already been Public Enemy Number One and he did a horrible job at it.”

Luke blushed and waved his mechanical hand. “That was _years_ ago, father,” He said quickly, “and I did it for the good of the people. Besides, you _really_ shouldn’t be the one talking.”

Tobias heard the disembodied voice huff good-humoredly.

The boy carefully stood up and brushed the dirt off of his skintight morphing suit. He nodded to Luke, and to the area behind him that he assumed was where Anakin still stood, and returned to his true body.

Luke looked towards the woods as Tobias was busy. He could feel another presence watching silently – it was the girl, Cassie, who took the shape of a wolf. He found her in the darkness and winked, but said nothing of it to Tobias.

< _Don’t tell Jake_. > Came the quiet request. Tobias, almost fully hawk, made no response, so Luke knew it was directed at him. He nodded almost imperceptibly.

Tobias finished his morph and flew back up to his branch.

< _Thank you_. > Tobias said again. < _I… I had no idea_. >

Luke nodded. “I understand. I was not much older than you when I was in the same place.”

< _I guess you want to go talk to the Hork-Bajir more?_ > Tobias asked. < _You seemed to be communicating quite well_. >

Luke smiled at Tobias. “I have an old friend who speaks similarly. However, he was known as the wisest of all Jedi. I enjoy talking with the Hork-Bajir. They have many new things to teach me.” He sighed and stretched out his arms above his head, a yawn enveloping the usually serene face. “But I think I’ll stay here for now. I need to rest.”

He sat against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes.

Tobias watched the young man incredulously. How could he fall asleep so quickly in potentially dangerous territory?

He heard a soft chuckle from behind him. “From what I’ve seen, that kid can sleep _anywhere_.” The voice was soft and, for some reason, filled with regret.

Tobias fluffed out his feathers against the night chill. Until Ax showed up, he could practice what Luke taught him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions are more or less dealt with. Then even worse things happen.

The weekend passed. Luke had remained within the Hork-Bajir valley the entire time, talking with the Hork-Bajir and tinkering with R2-D2.

It was Monday morning, the final day of Luke’s ‘test’. Tobias had offered to take the first shift, then Cassie volunteered for the second one. Jake planned on having everyone stick around for the last couple of hours, though.

“So, what was Jedi training like?” Tobias asked. He was human, as he and Luke had just finished meditating.

Well, Tobias didn’t want to call it _meditating_ , persay, but that’s what Luke called it. Tobias never bought into the whole New-Agey spirit thing, especially since in California, it was essentially used as an excuse to get high and have naked night-time dance parties in the woods.

After living in the wild for a few years, you see some shit.

But Luke brought something different to the equation. Tobias could understand and feel connections he had never noticed before, even with his raptor vision.

Luke was still relaxed against the tree. He chuckled and shook his head. “Mine was _much_ more unconventional than yours.”

Tobias frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I am technically considered the last of the Jedi,” Luke said quietly, after a long period of silence, “The rest of us had been nearly wiped out about twenty-five years ago. I was a newborn at the time.”

Tobias furrowed his brow. “Who did it?”

Luke pursed his lips. He closed his eyes. Tobias heard nothing from him for a minute, and was beginning to think the young man had fallen back into a meditative state, when he spoke again.

“Someone who later realized they had made a huge mistake.” The Jedi calmly replied. “He was tricked by the Dark Side of the Force.”

Tobias felt a cold chill creep across his shoulder blades. “The… Dark Side?”

Luke nodded, his eyes still closed. “The Force is extremely powerful, Tobias. I, and the Jedi before me, train in service of the Light Side of the Force. We seek to bring peace and justice to the galaxy.” His tone grew cold. “But the Sith, they are obsessed with the Dark Side. Their dark emotions and hunger for power is the only thing that rules them.” He sighed and cracked one eye open to look at Tobias. “Two of your friends are already leaning towards the Dark Side, even if they don’t know their power.”

Tobias bit his lip and looked down. “You mean Rachel and Marco, don’t you.”

“Strong emotions were… looked down upon, in the old Jedi Council,” Luke started awkwardly, “But considering I’m the only living Jedi left, it’s up to me to rebuild the Council and make sure that never happens again.” He took a deep breath through his nose. “ _Emotions_ are not what makes someone evil. How they react to those emotions, how they balance themselves, _that_ is where their true alignment lies.” He pushed himself up off the ground. “Rachel and Marco have a deep-seated anger and fear of the Yeerks inside of them. I can see it clearly, as I’m sure you will learn to. But it hasn’t consumed them _yet_.” He said sternly, his bright gaze boring into Tobias’ eyes. “That is the most important lesson you will learn. _Everyone_ is worthy of redemption.” Luke’s voice was thick with emotion at the end.

Did Tobias hear Anakin chuckling what Luke said? He shook his head and cleared his mind. He had questions of his own.

“Does that include the Yeerks, to?”

Luke cleared his throat, clearly putting the small outburst behind him. “It can. As I’m sure you know, not every species is a hivemind. It would do you well to find the good in your opponents. Although,” He shrugged, thinking back on his words, “I suppose with such a Dark source of energy coming from their ships, there aren’t many Yeerks who are willing to speak up.” He shook his head. “Just like the Empire, then. Too afraid to speak up for the greater good.”

Tobias thought of Aftran, the Yeerk in charge of the Peace Resistance movement. She certainly was one of the ‘good’ Yeerks, even if he didn’t _completely_ trust her. She really had done some good work for the Animorphs over the years.

< _Tobias? What are you doing in human morph?_ >

Shit.

< _Uh, I wanted to talk to Luke_. > He replied quickly. < _I figured, the day is almost over… right?_ >

Luke chuckled and waved in the direction Tobias thought Cassie was in. “Hello! Come to join us, have you?”

The gray wolf prowled out from the nearby brush. Tobias looked to Luke, then to Cassie, then back to Luke again.

“Did you ask Luke –“

<\- _To train you?_ >

Luke snorted. “I see you both have a lot left to learn.”

* * *

It was midnight. The final day had come and gone, and Luke was as cheerfully calm as ever.

Marco hated it.

Everyone except for him and Rachel seemed to be content with accepting Luke into the fold. Marco _knew_ he was hiding something. Until the man came totally clean, he wouldn’t trust a word the stranger said.

Tobias and Cassie seemed to be much more comfortable around him than anyone else, and it made Marco even more suspicious. As for Rachel…

She trusted Tobias. She _didn’t_ trust Luke.

But if Tobias seemed all right with the man, then she would put her suspicions on the back burner.

It really bothered Marco. He knew that sometimes, people fell for the cutesy calm and collected look. Everyone except for him seemed to swallow it hook, line and sinker. But he knew the look of someone hiding something. He knew the carefully-crafted mask.

He wore it every day, and he could see it plainly on Luke’s face. The man claimed to be all about peace and justice, but he had the determined presence of a killer.

Marco was familiar with the feeling. This man wasn’t some innocent stranger who stumbled into the middle of a war. He was smart, and calculating, and knew what he was doing.

It pissed Marco off that he couldn’t figure out exactly what Luke even wanted.

The Animorphs had gathered in the Hork-Bajir valley, where Luke waited with Cassie. Jake had landed, demorphed, and given the man back his crazy fire-sword. Marco had seen Rachel grit her teeth at the exchange, but she said nothing. Marco knew the feeling.

“I don’t know what the significance of three days is, but I’m glad you seem to have more trust in me today.” Luke said with a smile. “Perhaps you would allow me to teach you more about the Force?”

* * *

 

Marco, quite frankly, thought this whole thing was total bullshit.

Sure, Luke wasn’t infested. That meant he wasn’t an immediate threat. According to Jake, at least. But Marco _knew_ guys like Luke. That easy, caring smile, those puppy-dog eyes, the calm personality… it was all a farce. That he was the only one able to see it _seriously_ pissed him off. Luke was dangerous. Marco could see it in the older man’s face. He played at being all innocent and peaceful, but he had war-weary eyes. He knew there was something more to this guy, but he had no way of finding out what.

Jake, Ax, Tobias and Cassie were more than happy to accept Luke’s offer to teach them more. Tobias and Cassie had even exchanged furtive, amused glances as they stepped forward for their first lesson – Marco had seen the whole thing.

He and Rachel stayed back. Rachel had suspicious eyes trained on Luke’s mechanical hand as he waved it in the air, describing this invisible ‘Force’ that he loved to talk about so much.

She understood. She and Marco had to keep their eyes open for their friends. If Luke became dangerous, they’d be the ones to see it first and take him out.

Even without his lightsaber, Luke was pretty powerful. It might take everything they had to take him down.

Speaking of his power… they’d need to protect him, too. If the Yeerks got a hold of him, not only would they have the Animorph’s identities, but also the power of a man who could _rip trees out of the ground with his mind and throw them around like rag dolls_. And that was just what they had personally seen. Who knew what else this guy was capable of?

Talk about OP.

The young man sighed. He’d only come to the valley in order to check on Luke’s last day of potential infestation. Since everything turned out hunky-dory, there was no reason for him to stay. He walked over to the group of apt students and poked at Jake.

“Hey, I’ve got a test to not study for.” He said flippantly. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

Jake nodded, and for a second Marco saw the intelligent flash in his friend’s eye – Jake was still suspicious of Luke. He smiled and gave the fearless leader a pat on the back. “Right. Have fun.”

He turned away and started to morph into his osprey. He watched Rachel say goodbye as well, but by the time she started morphing, Marco was already fully feathered and ready to fly. He flapped his wings hard to get off the ground and into the sky.

He flew by himself for all of one minute before Rachel popped into his head. < _Jake seems to be… interested._ > She said carefully.

< _Jake’s keeping an eye on the others who wanted to join the happy fun time hippie gang_. > Marco replied. < _That telekinetic freak won’t get the upper hand on him._ >

< _If you say so_. > Rachel sighed. < _I feel bad for leaving them_. >

Marco growled. < _They’ll be fine. If anything, Luke should be worried_. >

< _Yeah? Tell that to_ him _. We’ll see if his little green firesword doesn’t cut off_ your _hands next_. > Rachel chuckled darkly.

Marco didn’t reply. He had nothing left to say. His mind was whirring, coming up with plans to get that lightsaber away from the psychic menace if a fight ever came to it.

It would be hard. That man was as fast as any Earthly animal. He’d have to be distracted while someone else went in for the sword. Even that would be difficult, seeing as the guy acts like he’s got eyes in the back of his head.

Marco clicked his beak in frustration. It _shouldn’t_ be that hard to disarm a human that didn’t even have a blaster or gun of any kind on him.

He swooped into his room, long since departed from Rachel, and demorphed. He needed to sleep.

If he even _could_.

* * *

 

“Welcome back, everyone.” Luke greeted his four students.

It was evening, a week since he was deemed free of Yeerk influence. The Hork-Bajir valley was just beginning to slow down, various Hork-Bajir climbing down from trees and preparing meals, going about their regular evening routines. Artoo was nowhere to be seen – that was expected, since every time he and Ax were in the same area, the Andalite would get absorbed in trying to pick the droid apart. Artoo had some personal space issues as far as strange alien species were concerned. It was clear Luke had been exercising – his eyes were bright and his cheeks flushed, suggesting he had been doing some kind of workout – either that, or he had been working on repairing his ship. The Animorphs were able to get him basic tools and supplies to fix it. He had been more than grateful that his ship hadn’t sustained any major damage from being buried in the sand. Just a few scratches and dents that he could easily fix. He was most worried about the hyperdrive, though. It took a lot of heavy damage in the crash.

Cassie and Jake nodded at the older man. Tobias blinked from his perch, and Ax dipped his head respectfully. “So, I’d like to hear a recap of our last lesson.” Luke began, hands crossed behind his back.

< _You got Cassie and I to try levitating rocks. >_ Tobias answered. < _Ax and Jake were focusing on meditation._ >

Luke nodded. “Yes, and did you all keep practicing after we finished?”

Ax shuffled a hoof in the ground. < _I keep trying, but I don’t quite understand_. > He sounded frustrated. < _I don’t think humans and Andalites meditate in the same way_. >

Luke _hmm_ ’ed and stared at Ax. He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Ax. I wish I knew more about Andalite physiology. I might be able to teach better if I understood your species better.”

Ax nodded. His tail drooped. < _It’s all right. I will continue going to these lessons, though. Perhaps I can find a way to tailor these teachings to myself_. >

“Perhaps!” Luke nodded in agreement. “I would absolutely love to see you succeed here. When Master Yoda returns, I’ll ask him what else we can do to figure this out.”

“Master Yoda?” Cassie asked. Luke chuckled.

“He’s like Anakin and Obi-Wan, the two you’ve already met,” he winced when he realized that Ax had, in fact, _not_ , “He was the Jedi who taught me everything I know.” He cleared his throat and turned his attention to Jake. “All right, how are you doing?”

The boy narrowed his eyes. “I tried to meditate some more yesterday night. I saw that bright ball of light, like Tobias described,” He nodded to his friend, “And when I reached out to it… everything just. Expanded.”

“Very good! That’s the first step. Were you able to come out of that easily?” Luke sounded proud.

“Well, my mom interrupted me in the middle of it.” Jake grimaced. Luke made a similar face in solidarity; he knew all too well the pain of being interrupted from such a state.

“Cassie? Tobias? How did the exercises I give you work?”

< _I was able to move a couple of stones by my nest_. > Tobias began. < _Yesterday I managed to almost get one up to my nest itself_. >

“Wonderful!” Luke exclaimed, his eyes shining. “I’m looking forward to bigger and better objects next time, Tobias.”

The hawk nodded – such an odd sight to see, really – and began to preen his feathers.

Cassie had her eyes closed. Luke could feel her pulling at the Force, and stayed quiet as he watched her work.

A large stone wobbled, then began to roll towards her. She bit her lip in concentration and lifted her hand into the air. The large stone – more of a small boulder, really – shakily jumped into the air and over her head. Cassie breathed deeply, releasing the tension in her body, and placed the stone down on the other side of her body.

When she opened her eyes, Luke was clapping.

“Amazing. The Force is strong in all of you, young ones.” He shook his head and laughed. “Who would have thought I’d find what I was looking for all the way out here?”

Jake looked up, his interest piqued. “What were you looking for?”

Luke looked down at the boy and sighed with a sad smile. “I have told you all that I am the last of my kind, the Jedi. Well, I seek to rebuild the Jedi Order, and in order to do that…” He gestured to the world around him. “I needed to find Force-sensitive people to train.”

Cassie stepped back. “We don’t want to be a part of any Order-“ She cut herself off as Luke shook his head.

“No, no, I wouldn’t expect you to be. You are much too busy here, fighting this war against the Dark.” He furrowed his brow. “Although I suppose, if I could manage to rebuild some of the Council, I could find a way to send aid in order to fight this battle.” He laughed. “Jedi are usually keepers of the peace, but when the balance is upset, we make excellent warriors.”

“That’s a contradiction. Why do you call yourself peace keepers if you know how to fight the way you do?” Jake challenged, his head tilted curiously.

Luke sighed. “Well, the Jedi _used_ to be peace keepers. I’m not sure what we are now. Since I’m the only one left, I have to find a way to build a lasting Order.” He looked to Jake again then, his eyes full of insight. “But I can answer your question. We rely on the Light side of the Force. That means we do not act on our emotions. We only fight necessary battles, but considering today’s galaxy…” He shrugged. “Perhaps we will have to become more used to battle than before.”

Cassie nodded. The answer seemed acceptable enough to her. Jake, however, still looked as if he had more questions.

Perhaps they could have been answered; perhaps not. It didn’t matter, because a moment later, Rachel and Marco shot into thought-speak range.

< _JAKE!_ > Marco shouted. < _We have a_ huge _fucking situation_. >

The leader instantly stood up taller. Luke could see a physical and mental change come over the boy. He was no longer Jake, the young Force-sensitive boy. He was Jake, the war general.

Marco and Rachel landed and quickly began to demorph. “Tell me.”

< _Z-Space. My dad was just telling us about Z-Space_. > Marco’s voice was frantic. < _He said he had been working on it at the lab, but that they’re just about ready to actually use it._ >

Jake frowned. “Why would he tell you that?”

Marco, mostly human now, shook his head furiously. “I have no idea!” He yelled as his eyes flashed from gold to brown. “Nora gave him the baby-doll eyes and it just spilled out.”

“All right.” Jake sighed. “Do you think this is Yeerk-sanctioned?”

< _How could it not be?_ > Ax asked, confused. < _There’s no way a bunch of humans could have stumbled across Z-Space without Yeerk intervention_. >

Luke decided not to say anything at that moment.

“All right, so Marco’s dad is infested.” Rachel said grimly.   
“No!” Marco shouted. “He’s not. I tested him. He said he was willing to go on a five-day trip to show off his company’s invention. No Yeerk would go on a five-day trip.”

Cassie shook her head. “Not unless they had a portable Kandrona source.”

Marco froze, one hand stuck running through his hair. “Shit.” He shook his head more vigorously. “No, no. I’d know if my dad were infested. He’s not. We’ve got to do something.”

< _How do we know the Yeerks aren’t putting on a trap?_ > Tobias added. < _Marco, we’ve got to know more about the situation before we can do anything_. >

The boy’s features grew dark. “Yeah, really? Then why are you all so quick to fuck with Mr. Nice-Guy over here?” He pointed accusingly at Luke. “We still don’t know anything about him, other than he’s not infested.”

Rachel nodded, her arms crossed over her chest.

Luke didn’t need the help of the Force to see Darkness creeping over the both of them.

“Marco, you need to calm down.” Jake said in warning. “We can talk about a plan now, but we still need to figure out what, exactly, is going on.” He looked back to Cassie. “Why would a potentially Yeerk-run program have an uninfested human working on something as big as this?”

“I don’t know!” Marco exhaled, clearly exasperated. “All I know is that he’s not a Controller.” He took a deep breath, staring nervously at Luke. “Maybe we can… start a stakeout? Keep an eye on my dad. He should be at his office now.”

Jake looked back to Marco. “All right, a stakeout it is. Tobias, Ax, you two head to Marco’s dad’s office.” The two nodded. Tobias got airborne as Ax morphed into his northern harrier.

Marco had clearly seen the look exchanged between Jake and Cassie. Luke had a feeling that there was more being said than what he could hear.

“I can go, too.” Marco insisted. Jake shook his head.

“No, you have to keep up appearances. We can’t have anyone suspicious of you right now. Go home. Go study for the test tomorrow.” He dismissed Marco quietly.

The young man glowered at his leader before turning away. He had returned to osprey form and flown off without any more words.

Rachel swallowed heavily. “All right, maybe his dad is a free man as of today. Who’s to say that he won’t get infested soon?”

Jake nodded. “We’ll just have to hope that Marco can make the right choice.” He turned to Luke. “Sorry you had to hear this.”

The older man shook his head. “No worries. I understand.” He shrugged. “I was a part of a Resistance movement myself not too long ago. These meetings never happen at the best of times.”

“You’ll have to tell me about it later,” Jake frowned, “I have a feeling that our class today is just going to have to be cut short.”

“What do you guys learn about, anyways?” Rachel asked, her head tilted curiously.

“I’ll tell you about it on the way home.” Jake responded. “We need to be on standby in case Marco does anything really stupid.”

Rachel nodded. “Fine.” She began to morph again. Luke watched in fascination as feathers sprouted to life from the girl’s skin. Morphing technology seemed amazing. He wondered if the group of younglings ever allow him access to the technology.

“Thank you, Luke.” Cassie added in farewell as she too began to morph. “Hopefully tomorrow our lesson can go a bit longer.”

He smiled. “As long as you continue to practice, I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

She couldn’t respond at that moment – her face was more osprey than human. She turned away and finished her morph, then flew off.

Just like that, Luke was alone in the darkening valley.

With a heavy sigh, he sat back into a meditative pose and closed his eyes. Unless they asked for his help, he couldn’t do much.

Of course, with his luck, the Force had decided to give him a vision at that exact moment.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, I could have given y'all the Force vision, but this chapter is already rather long, so I decided to save that bucket of fun for the next one. : )  
> Shit's really kicking into high gear now!! Oh man!!!   
> Tell me what you think, and thank you for reading!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco makes some stupid decisions. Rachel thinks about herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This more or less follows the story from book number 48, The Revelation, in case I for some reason forgot to mention that earlier. Hah. Whoops.

Of course, with his luck, the Force had decided to give him a vision.

* * *

_An older woman glared furiously at him. She was covered in bruises; Luke couldn’t see one patch of skin that didn’t look bruised or bleeding. Still, she had a strange and raging aura about her – and it was all directed at_ him _. Something about her reminded him of the boy Marco._

_A gorilla ripped the door to a vehicle clean off its hinges. A terrified man was in the driving seat._

_Leia and Han were staring at him in horror._

_Another Andalite – this one clearly_ not _Ax – laughed menacingly. He began to morph into something... disgusting._

_He was surrounded by Hork-Bajir. They shoved him forward roughly. In the distance, he could see a giant pool of sloshing gray liquid._

_His father was crying._

* * *

Luke woke from his vision with a start. The Force had shown him something, but he didn’t know what to make of it.

“What’s wrong?” Anakin was next to him. “I could feel…”

“Cold.” Luke answered. “I know. I had a vision.”

Anakin frowned. “Visions are confusing. Do you want to tell me about them?”

He mirrored his father’s frown. “I believe that I’m in danger.” He shook his head. “At the very least, I’m going to be dragged into this conflict.”

Anakin nodded. “Remember, not all visions happen as they appear.”

Luke gave his father a look. “I know, Father.” He raised a brow. “ _You’re_ the one who needed that advice, not me.”

Anakin shrugged. “True enough. Still,” He sat back, a stern look on his otherwise delicate features, “Visions the Force gives us are weird. Be careful, okay?”

Luke gave his father a small smile. “I’ll try.”

* * *

Rachel had doubts.

She didn’t really talk about them. Not with any of the others, at least. She had an image to uphold: Rachel, Warrior Princess. She was the tank, the one everyone looked to when they needed something beat down.

And she liked it. But a part of her was scared she liked it too much. She had already been through this with Crayak, but still, the urge to just give in to the fight was… worrying.

She had a feeling she wouldn’t make it out of the war alive. Not if she kept relying on fighting to _feel_ alive, at least.

She knew Marco didn’t trust Luke. She didn’t, either. But the way Cassie and the others changed after talking with him… it interested her. Maybe there was a way to calm the bloodthirsty savagery inside her. And maybe the key to doing that was to talk to Luke.

She shook her head. She was supposed to be studying for her math test, not debating on her morality and dependence on violence to stay happy.

With a sigh, she returned to the book she had been reading from. The numbers blurred together as her mind drifted off again.

The phone rang. Her hand snatched out to grab it before any other part of her had reacted. “Yes?” She answered.

“Want to hang out?” Marco’s voice was tight. Rachel stifled a groan.

“Sure. Where?”

Marco gave the address.   
“Is this about earlier?”

“Yes.” He hung up. Rachel snorted and closed her book. Jake would kill her, but he’d kill Marco worse.

She opened her window and flew out. She’d need to get there fast. Marco would find a way to fuck this up quickly, and he needed backup.

After a few minutes of flying, she could see the house in the distance. Marco had crashed through the front door, and was absolutely set on trashing this guy’s house. She could hear confused roars of injured Hork-Bajir and the terrified screaming of Marco’s dad.

Great. So he probably wasn’t infested yet.

She landed and morphed into grizzly in record time.

Marco definitely looked happy to see her. As happy as he could as a gorilla who was being choked by a giant walking bladefest. Rachel threw them off of her friend and ripped into them. They didn’t have a chance from the start.

She hated that she loved it.

When the fight had finished, Marco untied his dad.

< _Shit. What are you going to do?_ > Rachel asked him privately. Marco shrugged.

< _Keep him safe_. > He responded. < _I’ll find a way back, okay?_ >

Rachel let him go, let him carry his crazed father out of the house and into the car. She let him drive away.

Before the police could arrive, she was flying away. Owls were commonplace at night. No one would be surprised to see one at this hour.

* * *

“ _What?_ ” Jake sounded furious.

He had every right to be, given that Marco had pulled the riskiest stunt anyone had ever thought of, but _still_.

“Hey, I was just there to make sure he didn’t get killed.” Rachel growled. “By the time I got there, he was already throwing shit around and getting his ass kicked.”

Jake pinched his brow.

They were all in Cassie’s barn. Everyone except for Marco, that was. He was busy running away from the Yeerks with his dad. It had been hours since Rachel had seen him – in fact, it was late morning by that point. School had been a necessary sacrifice for this emergency meeting.

“I can’t fault him for doing what he thought was right.” Cassie sounded worried. “But he’s just painted a huge target on everyone’s back.”

Tobias puffed himself out. “Maybe you should all consider getting your families into hiding as well. They’ll start looking for us next.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Marco’s voice sounded from just outside the barn. “The Chee and I have it under control. No one will go looking for you guys.”

“Marco, what were you _thinking_?!” Jake yelled. Marco shrugged, his face downcast.

“I wasn’t. One moment, I was making peace with the fact that I was about to lose my dad. The next, I’m slamming my fist into some Hork-Bajir’s face.”

Jake sighed deeply. “Well, great.” He shook his head. “Great. That’s explained.” He groaned and leaned his head back, looking at the barn ceiling. “Assuming your plan with the Chee works, where is your dad going to stay?”

Marco swallowed heavily. “Right now he’s staying at the Chee’s dog park. I guess I’ll move in with him down there, too, since I’m getting wiped out as well.” He laughed bitterly. “No more math tests.”

Everyone was silent. That is, until Ax spoke up.

< _This is all because of a Z-Space transponder, correct?_ > His stalk eyes swiveled around to look at everyone. Marco nodded. < _Do you suppose we could take it from the Yeerks?_ >

Cassie shook her head. “Now that they know we know about it, that thing will be on major lockdown. I doubt we could get close to it at this point.”

Jake looked thoughtful. “Still… Marco, your dad was one of the head engineers on the project, right?”

Marco nodded, already understanding the plan. “Yeah, he was.” He turned to Ax. “Maybe you two could build our own Z-Space transponder.”

Ax spluttered. < _W-what?_ >

Marco laughed. It wasn’t humorous. “You know, work together to build one. A spaceworthy cell phone. We could have the Andalite fleet here in days.”

Ax shook his head. < _As I said, I am sure that the Yeerks put more effort into this project. I doubt your father will_ ->

“I bet Luke might know a thing or two about interplanetary communication,” Jake said. “You could all three work together on it.”

Marco looked sour at the suggestion, but he said nothing.

Ax huffed and splayed his hands out. < _I_ suppose _it could work. I’d like to meet with your father, then, and see what he knows_. _We can bring Luke into this later_. >

Marco grinned darkly. “Now that’s what I like to hear. Come on, Ax-man. Let’s get wings.” Immediately, he shrunk down into his osprey morph.

Ax was quick to follow.

It was a quick flight to Erik the Chee’s house. Ax and Marco quickly demorphed.

The ancient robot home was just as cleanly unkempt as Marco remembered it. He wondered if the Chee’s nonviolence programming also kept them from harming the environment any more than necessary.

He shook his head and waved to Ax, who was now mostly human. The hair at the top of his head was quickly turning brown, as opposed to the cute baby blue fur he was usually covered in.

Marco took a moment outside the front door. He shook his head again and sighed as he pushed it open. This was going to be complicated.

* * *

 

As it was, Rachel was pretty much convinced that Luke was some kind of psychic alien.

Nothing seemed to get on the guy’s nerves. He always knew when she or one of her friends were around. And he seemed to talk to things that weren’t really _there_.

The fact that Tobias, Cassie and Jake all seemed to know these invisible people too was just more unnerving.

She couldn’t quite explain why she flew to the valley after the meeting. She had nothing to do. She had already skipped school for the morning; there wasn’t much reason in going for the rest of the afternoon classes. She already knew most of the learned material, anyways.

She swooped down into the valley, always pleasantly surprised to see the area magically open itself up to her, and settled down on a nearby branch.

Luke was off a little way, practicing with his lightsaber. It looked like he was doing regular warm up exercises, but his eyes were closed. This piqued Rachel’s interest.

His green lightsaber hummed with various intensities as he swung it to and fro. It was like watching a kind of sacred dance, the way he jumped and sliced and _moved_.

Rachel felt herself drawn to the display. She was aware that she was hopping from one tree to the next, getting ever-so-slightly closer to the older man, but didn’t quite realize how close she had gotten until the quiet hum of the blade became a loud hissing.

She felt a burst of heat as the blade _wooshed_ past her. Her eagle throat let out a squawk as her more human voice shouted in fear. She scrambled and flapped her wings, giving her enough momentum to get out of the way of the blade.

Luke’s eyes opened at the unexpected noises. He made a choked sound and fell back off the branch he had leapt onto. He ungracefully sprawled across the valley floor, his lightsaber a few feet away from him. He was only down for a moment, though, as his lightsaber flew to his hand and deactivated. “O-Oh!” He stuttered. “I didn’t even – oh dear.” He laughed nervously and clipped his lightsaber back onto his belt as he stood up. “I am really sorry.”

Rachel stared at him in shock. How had he even reached her spot on the branch? She had been several feet above him, but he seemed to have leapt up there like it was no big deal. However, it seemed she had startled him as well… which was odd.

< _Why didn’t you know I was here?_ > She asked as she smoothed her ruffled feathers.

“I’ve been doing a lot of internally-focused meditation.” He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. “I, uh, wasn’t expecting anyone today.”

Rachel leaned forward suspiciously. < _I thought this Force thing told you the future_. >

He laughed. “Not _everything_. That would be too much for me to handle.” He stared up at her in the tree. “I’m surprised it didn’t tell me about you. What brings you here?”

Rachel thought for a good couple of minutes. < _I wanted to talk. >_

“About what?” Luke asked.

She puffed up her chest. < _What did you teach my friends?_ >

The man stared at her, but said nothing. Rachel felt uncomfortable under his gaze. It was like he could look at her soul itself. Her ugly, bloody soul.

Luke broke the awkward silence. “I have been teaching them basic meditation techniques and how to utilize their innate Force abilities.” He said. “It is something I can teach you as well, if you’d like.”

Rachel fluttered down to the forest floor and began to demorph. < _You did something with them_. > She started. < _Something weird. They’re not the same anymore_. >

Luke frowned. “Is it a bad thing?”

Rachel finished her return to human without saying anything. She shrugged once she had shoulders and sighed, “I don’t know.” She looked Luke up and down and narrowed her eyes. “You can see it, can’t you.” It wasn’t a question.

Luke pursed his lips. “Can I?”

Rachel grew angry. “ _Cut the shit!_ You can see this – this _mess_ that’s going on. I’m _scared_. I’m scared of myself.” She took a huge breath and continued. “Tobias trusts you, and that’s enough for me.” She shuffled her feet in the ground. “So can you tell me how to fix it?”

“It’s up to you to fix yourself.” Luke said carefully. “I can only give you the tools to help you. You use them as you wish.”

Rachel, confused at his sudden change in demeanor, looked up at him.

Luke’s face was strained as he looked past her, at something she couldn’t see. He looked… _guilty_?

“Rachel, you have much anger inside of you.” Luke put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. “You aren’t the only one.”

He stepped back and sighed. “My father… would be a better teacher than I.” He shook his head. “But his time has come and gone. Still, if you are willing,” he looked back to her once more, his eyes alight with something she didn’t quite understand, “you might be able to meet him.”

Rachel shook her head. “Why would you want to do that?” She looked around the valley, looking for… anything. “We don’t have anything to offer you. We’ve attacked you, and kept you prisoner, and _still_ treated you with distrust. We have nothing to give you in return. So why are you just so happy to ‘train’ us?”

“Because it’s what I need to do.” Luke shrugged. “I made it my mission to discover new planets and Force-sensitive beings. I _want_ to help.” He looked… earnest. So much that Rachel’s heart felt an odd ache. She knew he was telling the truth.

“Well… we’ll see about that.” Rachel cleared her throat and took the plunge. “What’s first on the agenda?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think :3


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke, Ax, and Marco's dad come over some cultural differences. Marco is an unwilling participant.

It wasn’t long before Ax came to the valley and filled Luke in on the more pressing matters. Rachel had come and gone – Luke was, oddly enough, feeling warm. Usually around the presence of the tense warrior, he felt a worrying chill. But after their heart to heart, he could feel warmth seep towards him.

He could totally do this. He just had to trust in the Force.

He patiently waited for Ax to explain the situation. “So, you want my input on building a communications link?”

< _I… suppose_. > He sounded uncomfortable. < _We’re not even sure that you use the same basis for technology as us. But it is worth a try._ >

Luke nodded strangely. “All right, I’ll go with you to your… _scoop_ , it was?”

Ax blinked in affirmation. < _Follow me. It’s not too far from here_. >

Luke grinned. He turned around and cupped his hands around him mouth. “Artoo!”

The astromech, who had been tottering over by a couple of young Hork-Bajir, zipped over to his friend. “I want you to come with us to Ax’s scoop. I think taking a look at your comm system might be helpful.”

Artoo beeped uncomfortably, but, at Luke’s insistence, drudgingly followed him.

“So, Ax,” Luke started awkwardly as they walked, “What are you people like?”

Ax flicked one stalk-eye to look at Luke. < _My people are a proud race of intellectuals and warriors._ > He pulled himself up. < _We’ve been spaceworthy for much longer than humans… of this planet_. > He added hastily. < _Our species have many social and moral differences. I wouldn’t expect you to understand them_. >

Luke nodded. “I see. Well, I’m sure humans have quite a lot of odd social and moral differences that you don’t understand, either.” He chuckled. “I’m sure the humans _here_ have plenty of customs _I_ don’t understand.”

Ax paused, seemingly taken aback. < _I… suppose you’re correct_. > He puffed his chest out a little, to build himself up. < _Well, if you need any information on the oddities of these humans, I will do my best to explain_. >

Luke smiled in appreciation. “Thank you, Ax.”

< _We’re not far from my scoop. It’s there, over that small hill_. > The alien pointed to a strange little outpost in the middle of the forest.

Luke thinks it’s just _adorable_.

“How long have you lived here?” Luke asked excitedly. “Oh, you’ve even got a viewscreen! Lovely.” He took no time at all acquainting himself with the small scoop. “So, when do the others show up?”

< _Marco and his father should be here momentarily. Marco and Tobias told me that they call this… ‘viewscreen’ a ‘television’._ >

“Hmm, I see.” He inspected the ‘television’ with interest. “I guess that makes… sense.”

“What are you talking about?” Marco’s voice called from the trees. He and his father appeared from the wilderness, both shaking off various leaves and dirt.

Marco’s father clearly looked exhausted. Luke felt a pang of pity from just looking at the man. He approached the boy’s father and took one hand in his. “Hello, sir. My name is Luke Skywalker.” He nodded his head in a respectful bow and stepped away.

Marco’s father looked awkwardly between him and Ax. “So, uh, who’s this guy again?” He loudly whispered to his son. Marco’s eye twitched.

“That’s Luke. I didn’t say much about him.” He said with a pointed glare in Luke’s direction. “He’s, uh, new. Don’t know much about him. He can be trusted, though. Not infested, at least.”

Ax stepped forward, as if to defend Luke, but the Jedi shook his head quietly at his young friend.

“Well, hopefully we can learn more about each other from working together on this.” He said instead. “I am to understand we’re going to make a communications device?”

“Y-Yeah. A Z-Space transponder. Capable of communicating to any other planet in the galaxy.” Marco’s father shakily responded. “These two thought you might know some fancy techno stuff they didn’t teach us.” He gestured to Marco and Ax respectively.

“I don’t know much about this ‘Z-Space’, but I know my way around communications devices. I’ve been stranded in more than one place in the galaxy without a decent comm link.” He chuckled. “You learn a thing or two about building them from scrap when you need to.”

Marco’s father paled. Ax looked shocked as well, for an Andalite’s expressionless face.

“My father may also be of assistance,” He added, “Although… he would have to communicate through me.”

“Great,” Marco said drily, “We’ve got the Ghost Whisperer on our hands. And apparently ghosts know how to create ridiculously high-tech communications devices.”

“ _More than that, kiddo.”_ Anakin’s voice floated through Luke’s mind sarcastically. Luke hid his grin and shrugged.

“Well, he was much better at fiddling with technology than I am.” Luke supplied. “He certainly had a lot of practice.” He added that as a quip at his father – while Anakin wasn’t in the vicinity, he was still able to speak with Luke through their odd bond.

Marco’s father looked positively squeamish. Luke could feel the near-panic rolling off of him in waves.

It was, quite frankly, very distracting.

Luke stepped towards Marco’s father again. “Sir, I can’t help but notice your distress.” He reached out his non-mechanical hand. “If you’d like, I can make this a little easier.”

Marco stepped in front of his father defensively. “No mind tricks.” He said, to which Luke shook his head.

“No, I wouldn’t do that.” Luke grimaced. “That wouldn’t help anyone. I just know how to channel out negative energies. Your father feels like he needs it.” He nodded once to the older man, who was sweating profusely.

Marco sighed. “Dad, Luke’s gonna do something to make you feel a little better. Is that fine?”

His father nodded jerkily. “Sure. I guess it can’t get much weirder, can it?”

Luke closed his eyes and reached out to the older man’s presence within the Force. He could feel it swirling and raging in fear and frustration. Luke felt a cold stab in his gut as he brushed past Marco’s presence.

He couldn’t focus on that at the moment. He had someone else to take care of. With a deep breath, Luke drew out a decent portion of the older man’s negative energy and pushed it out, into the Force, which sucked it away hungrily.

When Luke opened his eyes, Marco’s father was looking better. At least, he didn’t look like he was about to pass out.

“All right,” Luke stated after a moment of odd silence, “Shall we get started?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time, sorry about that! We're getting close to the point where I need to actually start writing again (as I have written out about..... fifteen more pages of this fic until you're all caught up to where I stopped for schoolwork, lol).   
> Let me know what you think!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke and Co. get in way over their heads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO, SO SORRY. I have most of this fic written out! I promise! But the more I update it, the closer I get to where I've gotten hit with writer's block.   
> DON'T WORRY. I'll finish this fic if it kills me.   
> But I am giving an extra-long update for all of you as if to fall to my knees and beg for forgiveness.   
> It's a good thing this was pre-written because it's 12am right now and I am just all over the place, emotionally speaking.

Jake was ready to try that meditation again.

It felt odd to so much as think it, but for some reason, he felt that it would really help him after this shit of a day.

He settled himself on his bed in a comfortable position and closed his eyes. Luke had told him that it’s possible to meditate with your eyes open, but Jake had decided eyes closed was the way to go.

He sucked in a deep breath and let out a soft hum. With that hum, he imagined the waves of his voice stretching out and washing over the objects in his room. He felt the smooth wood of his desk across the room, the bed underneath him, the floor beneath the bed, the door to his room…

At the same time, he reached inside himself. He took another deep breath and relaxed his muscles. He could feel the glowing brightness that was _himself_ , he just needed to reach out and touch it.

He could feel the world around him slowly becoming more and more detailed. He could see everything without so much as opening his eyes.

Just like last time, he felt total awe as the world expanded around him.

He knew Tom was home. He could sense his brother in the room next to his, hunched over at his own desk. Jake felt something horribly off within his brother – he couldn’t quite see colors, but he could tell there were two distinct beings within the bright light that was Tom.

One was clearly more powerful than the other. It was like the brighter light sucked the very life out of the duller presence.

It made Jake sick to his stomach. He snapped back to physical reality, the expanded world slamming shut into darkness immediately.

With a sigh, he opened his eyes and pushed himself back onto his bed.

He had hoped Luke’s training would help him come to terms with Tom’s continued infestation. If anything, it just made everything so much _worse_.

* * *

It had been one whole week since Luke, Ax, and Marco’s father began to build a new Z-Space transponder – or, as Luke called it, a _com device_. Marco personally preferred the former. ‘ _Z-Space transponder_ ’ just sounded so much more high-tech. Luke’s wording made it sound… banal.

Although, he guessed, in Luke’s world those things _were_ pretty commonplace.

Luke had helped gather certain necessary parts. He knew that a lot of what they would need could be easily found on his ship, among his own ineffective com system that was damaged in the crash.

Ax and Marco’s dad had taken every possible chance they could to inspect the little robot’s internal robot guts. Artoo seemed deeply uncomfortable with it, and every time one of the two organics looked at him with a glint in their eyes, the little droid beeped nervously and pushed against Luke’s legs.

The young man would only laugh and pat his droid on the metal dome.

At the end of the week, the Z-Space transponder was actually looking like a useable device. Ax could turn it on, but there wasn’t any sound aside from static.

That is, until that day. Marco happened to be with the high-tech geniuses at work when a strangely not-electronic voice broke out of the usual useless scramble.

Ax, his dad, and Luke were immediately glued to the device. Slowly, more garbled words issued forth. “ _Bu bargon doth mo_.”

The three looked at each other in fascination.

“Is it working?” Marco’s dad asked. Ax raised his stalk eyes to the sky.

< _I’m not sure. I don’t recognize the language_. > He turned to Luke. < _Do you-_ >

Luke had the look of a gleaming star on his face. It was like looking at a puppy who just discovered how to get to the _Beggin’ Strips_.

“This is – oh, Force, it’s a little rusty – this is _Huttese_!” He then grimaced. “I never expected to be so excited over Huttese.”

“What does it mean?” Marco asked from the television. He didn’t want to get too excited.

Luke frowned. “Well… Huttese is difficult to translate. I have a rough understanding of it, but that phrase is relatively familiar. ‘The deal is off’, he said.”

“Great, so we’re listening to a deal gone bad?” Marco’s dad inquired. “I mean, cool, but it’s not really pertinent to what we’re looking for.”

Luke nodded. “The Hutts are way too far away from this system to be involved with Yeerk activity.” He frowned. “Although you say the Yeerks are slugs? Hmm. They might be distantly related as a species.”

He was practically glowing. Marco was suddenly made aware that Luke, while clearly older than him, was still young at heart. “I can’t believe we managed to get a signal so far out.” He then laughed nervously. “I hope the whoever was having that conversation didn’t notice our eavesdropping.”

“Well, we need to find a way to get the coordinates focused on a specific location.” Marco’s dad reigned in Luke’s excited outburst. “Somewhere much closer to _our_ planet.”

The younger man nodded and tried to wipe the smile off of his face. It was clear there was an idea turning in his head, but he kept quiet about it. “Do we have any specific coordinates for Yeerk wavelengths?”

Ax shook his head. < _Nothing for sure, but I have a few theories I would like to try out._ > He had been awkwardly quiet throughout Luke’s excitement, clearly uncomfortable that a human would know more about an unknown species than he did.

“All right, then. What are we waiting for?” Luke tilted his head with a grin. “I’d like to hear these Yeerks once and for all.”

Ax blinked once before he returned to the controls. After fiddling with them for a few moments, a more understandable message pushed through the static.

“I’ll get the others.” Marco jumped up from his seat by the television. “They’ll want to see this.” He quickly began the morph to osprey and was off without a goodbye.

The first couple of coordinates Ax tried gave nothing but various human chatter, which was clearly not-Yeerk. With a sigh, he dialed in one last set of coordinates. < _If this doesn’t work, we’ll have to try and_ ->

“… _Nem zurka kakis loti_.”

“Woah!” Marco’s dad reeled back. “All right, that was definitely something.”

Ax nodded, and with a furtive glance to gauge Luke’s facial expression, spoke. < _That was a form of Yeerk dialect. Are you familiar with it, Luke?_ >

The Jedi shook his head. “Not at all.” He was smiling hugely, though. “Wow. What did it say?”

Ax shrugged. < _I didn’t catch all of what was said. I can translate the rest, though, if there’s any more_. >

< _You’d better!_ > Came Rachel’s voice. Everyone on the ground looked up to see a group of five birds of prey landed on three branches above them. Everyone except for the hawk hopped off of their branches and landed on the ground. They immediately began the return to human.

“Just in time for the big reveal!” Marco’s dad joked. No one really laughed, but Luke gave the older man a comforting smile in response.

 Ax was focused on the unfamiliar and grating language coming from the small box.

Luke smiled at the group and gestured to the Z-Space transponder. “We haven’t quite figured out the translator chip, but Ax and I can effectively work as translators for most of the languages spoken.” He blushed. “Ax will be more knowledgeable about dialects from this area of the galaxy, but the farther out you reach, I can probably translate a thing or two.”

Jake nodded. “Great. What’s being said right now?”

Ax looked deep in focus. A moment passed, and he looked towards Marco. < _This is disturbing news._ >

“Well, don’t keep us in the dark,” Rachel huffed, “What is it?”

< _It seems Visser One has returned to Earth… but to be executed as a traitor_. >

Marco’s father jumped. “Visser One… Marco, that’s Eva.” He looked to his son and swallowed heavily. Marco looked faint.

< _From what I understand, this means death by Kandrona starvation_. > One hoof shuffled in the ground. < _She has been captive for one day so far. Her death needs to be witnessed by the Council of Thirteen, and then… Visser Three will be elevated to title of Visser One_. >

The humans were silent. They all knew what that meant. Total global war. Millions dead. The Animorphs wouldn’t matter against a fully weaponized assault.

< _That’s almost everything_. > Ax concluded. < _There’s a rumor that… that the execution of Visser One will mark the beginning of a change for Earth_. >

“You mean to say you’re not sure?” Jake clarified. Ax nodded.

< _That’s all the information I can get from this channel_ _at the moment_. >

Marco looked down at his feet. His father had a pained expression on his face.

Luke felt torn. He shouldn’t speak up – this wasn’t his fight. But based on what he had heard, it was possible to save this person from dying.

“If Ax can’t be totally sure what that means… there’s certainly one person who does.” Cassie said, quiet but sure.

Marco pointedly looked down. He didn’t want to meet anyone’s eye. He couldn’t ask for this.

“Visser One.” Jake said sternly. “You want to rescue _Visser One_.”

Cassie nodded. “Even if her Yeerk doesn’t survive, Marco’s mom should still know a lot of information regarding Yeerk plans.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s worth a shot.”

< _That means we’d have to go to the Yeerk pool_. > Tobias pointed out. < _How? We don’t have any other way to get in_. >

Ax picked his head up. < _Actually_ ,> He began, < _I might have just gotten an idea_. >

* * *

“H-Hello?” Luke said into the rudimentary com device. “Is this the – the police?” The unfamiliar word tumbled over his lips.

A harsh, gritty voice answered him. “Yes, son. What can I do for ya?”

< _Tell him you saw an alien_. > Tobias said calmly, despite having a large, spiked contraption chopped through his left leg. < _Big and covered in blades_. >

Luke mumbled what Tobias had told him. “I – I think this is an alien!” He breathed. “A real-live alien!”

“What is your location, son?” The gruff voice turned steely. Luke knew instantly this was one of the ‘Controllers’ the children spoke of.

Tobias fed him the information, which he repeated to the police officer. He ended the call with a frightened “Please, come quickly,” and then ceased communications.

“How did I do?” he asked to the apparent empty darkness.

< _I could have done better. >_ Marco grumbled.

< _You did a great job_. > Jake said at the same time. < _But stay quiet. We can’t let them know you know us._ >

Luke nodded and placed his hand on the hilt of his lightsaber. He knew everything could turn deadly within moments.

It wasn’t too long before another one of those strange bug-like ships appeared above him in the air. It landed, and two Hork-Bajir walked out of it – along with another one of those strange worm-like creatures.

< _Knock the Hork-Bajir out. The Taxxon doesn’t matter_. >

For a moment, Luke thought Jake was talking to him. He waved one hand and sent a powerful suggestion through the Force.

The Hork-Bajir fell to the forest floor in a heap of dark green skin and dangerous blades.

The children leapt out in various dangerous morphs a moment too late. They all looked at Luke in utter confusion.

The shock was quickly forgotten, because the Taxxon had realized the trap. With the quick swipe of a tiger’s claw, the Taxxon was splattered across the ground.

They all now had time to stare at Luke in confusion.

< _Did you do that?_ > Rachel asked incredulously. Luke shrugged, clearly embarrassed.

“I thought Jake was asking me to take care of it.” He chuckled and ran a hand through his floppy hair. “I was worried you might accidentally kill them.”

< _We know how to knock out a couple of aliens_. > Marco said uncomfortably.

< _But thanks for helping out_. > Cassie said quickly to make up for her teammate’s rude attitude.

The group was silent for a moment. Luke was sure they were communicating without him. Finally, Jake padded up to him.

< _Luke, we want you to come with us_. >

“What do you mean?” He frowned.

< _He means we’re using you as bait to get to the infestation pier_. > Rachel said with a hint of excitement. < _We’d have a hard time getting to it otherwise_. >

“Why do you need to go to the… pier?” He frowned. “Wouldn’t we be looking for some kind of cell block?”

< _The Yeerks are not going to quietly let their traitorous leader waste away in some prison cell_. > Ax said coldly. < _They will place her where all can see, and where she will suffer the most._ >

Luke blanched as he felt a cold chill run down his spine.

“ _Do you want me to be there?_ ” Anakin asked quietly – privately – to his son. “ _I know you’re used to danger, but I don’t want you to be alone_.”

Luke cleared his throat and nodded. “All right.” He said to both parties. “I’ll go.” _And you are free to come with me_ , he said reassuringly to his father.

< _Great_. > Jake said as he demorphed. < _You and Tobias can get on the ship. We’ll meet you there momentarily_. >

Tobias, who was already back to his hawk form, hopped through the trap on his skinny bird legs and flew into the ship. Luke held back a heavy sigh and followed his student aboard.

It was interesting, to say the least. No longer was he the commander of a squad of ships. He was now bait for someone else’s war.

As long as he was helping, he would be all right with being bait. He felt an amused twinge from Anakin, though.

“ _Being forced to be bait loses its glory after the first time you’re asked to do it_.”

Tobias jumped. < _Anakin’s here?_ > He turned his head around, searching for the ghost. < _Why?_ >

Anakin laughed. “ _Consider it a reliving of my glory days_.” Another chuckle. “ _I won’t clutter up this little ship with my presence, but I’m here to make sure Luke does a good job on his first mission with you guys_.”

Luke felt a sarcastic pull at his gut. He shook his head with a soft smile and shrugged at Tobias. “My father is rather stubborn.”

That was the extent of their conversation, for as soon as Luke finished speaking, the hatch opened and five Hork-Bajir marched on.

< _Ax, can you get this thing started?_ > Jake asked from the front. Another Hork-Bajir stepped forward and almost huffed.

< _Of course_. >

With the few presses of a button, Ax had the ship on.

With a few more, he had the lights on.

With a few more, the ship flew up uncontrollably into the air. Six voices cried out in surprise as everyone was violently yanked back from the force of the ascent.

Luke felt a distressed sigh come from his father.

* * *

If Luke hadn’t had a headache from the moment he walked onboard, he _certainly_ had one by the time they were all underwater.

It was a good thing they wanted him to look weakened and uncomfortable. Playing the part would almost be too easy. He held back a growl when one of the Hork-Bajir children stepped on his foot while trying to find their balance.

“ _Now, now_ ,” Anakin’s voice jokingly chided, “ _Don’t let your emotions get the best of you!_ ”

Luke grit his teeth and wished he had never heard of the word ‘ _Jedi’_.

The ship sliced through the water efficiently and silently. Luke had always liked a stealthy ship. After all, he had spent a decent amount of time on Han’s junker of a ship. He was _due_ for some actual decent flying technology.

The ship quickly found its way to the underwater entrance. Luke felt a ripple of cold energy wash over him. For a moment, he almost felt sick.   
The last time he had felt such a chill was with the Emperor.

< _Luke, we want you to stay with me_. > Jake ordered. < _We’ll be in charge of getting us to the pier. Ax will stay behind and keep the ship ready for takeoff_. >

Luke nodded silently.

< _Great. Everyone, get ready. We don’t know what we’re facing_. >

Jake stood behind Luke and grasped his hands within a cage of blades. Luke held off a chuckle at the absurdity of it all.

The ship landed in what looked like a private docking bay.

Ax got the hatch open, but moved back to the main controls so that the others could quickly hop out. < _Thanks_. > Jake nodded to the Andalite. < _You’ll know if we need to make a quick exit_. >

He nodded. < _Good luck_. >

Luke was roughly shoved out of the ship. < _Sorry_ ,> Jake winced. < _We need to make it look real_. >

Luke shrugged imperceptibly. He had been subjected to worse. Jake could see Luke’s understanding, and began to push him forward again.

Luke was certainly interested in the docking bay. There were _tons_ of ships – almost an entire armada. And in addition to the ships in orbit around the planet? It was amazing these aliens hadn’t already decided to start a military invasion. As far as he knew, there were no laws against that sort of behavior on this planet, especially since the humans here did not know about the existence of other beings on other planets.

“ _Sidious didn’t take the galaxy by force, either_.” Anakin supplied. “ _At least, not at first_.” He added grimly.

< _Sidious?_ > Cassie asked.

Anakin blushed. He had forgotten that the Force-sensitives with training could easily hear him talk with his son.

“ _That’s a topic for another time_.” Anakin said hastily. “ _Don’t you have something more important to focus on?_ ” He said with a hint of fatherly humor. Luke tried not to roll his eyes.

Unfortunately, his relatively small amount of good humor was quickly stripped away as soon as they left the docking bay and entered the main Pool entrance.

It was a nightmare. Luke was blasted with a chilling presence so strong he almost fell to his feet.

< _Luke!_ > Cassie yelped. < _Are you okay?_ >

He coughed into his fist. He didn’t have the luxury of being able to telepathically communicate with the rest of the team. He felt Anakin’s worried presence by his side.

“ _He’s all right._ ” His father said, sounding strained. “ _We just felt a very strong Dark presence. It’s been a few years since we’ve felt something this strong_.” His voice was… pained. “ _Don’t stop. He just needs to get his bearings_.”

Thank the Force for his father’s desire to come along.

Jake continued to push him along the concrete path to the pool of sludge.

Luke was reminded of his vision. This was _certainly_ a part of what he saw.

Plenty of Hork-Bajir stopped to stare at their odd group. One even stopped them to ask in broken Basic why they had a human.

“Immediate… Infestation.” Jake garbled. “Visser’s orders.”

For a moment, he seemed confused. Then, he blinked roughly, garbled some strange nonsense, and nodded them on their way.

< _No_ , you _have a nice day_. > Marco quipped. < _I can’t believe that worked_. >

<Shut up.> Rachel snipped.

Luke wished he had gone on this mission with _adults_.

Of course, everyone fell silent when they saw the entirety of the Pool.

It was obvious where Marco’s mother was. She was suspended above the pool like a distorted holy figure, bleeding and bruised from every viewable angle.

He could _feel_ Marco suck in a deep breath.

Luke suddenly realized that this mission had more at stake than simply Marco’s mother’s life.

Depending on how this mission turned out, it could be the key to Marco’s inner Darkness.

< _Don’t say anything_. > Jake directed to Marco. < _We don’t know how she’d react_. >

< _I’m not stupid_. > Marco hissed. < _Let’s get this figured out. How do we get her from_ there _to the ship?_ >

< _We bring the ship to her_. > Jake sighed. < _Stealth is out_. >

< _Wait!_ > Rachel paused. < _Can Luke do the waving hand trick again?_ >

Luke already had started to shake his head before Anakin even said anything.

“ _Not in front of this many people._ ” Anakin spoke for him. “ _I think the risky pick up is the only way out of this, unfortunately._ ”

< _Eh, it was worth a shot_. > Rachel didn’t sound too disappointed, though. < _So, back to the ship?_ >

As they all turned to go back, the Hork-Bajir from before stormed up to them. “ _Sssstop_ right there!” He hissed. Other Hork-Bajir turned to watch. “Your fighter is overdue. Explain!”

“We were given direct orders to infessst this human.” Jake pushed the words out of his beak-like mouth. “From the Visser himself.”

< _Stay cool, everybody_. > He said to the rest of the group privately.

“Lie!” The alien cried. “I checked the records. There’s no mention of any _required_ human infestationssss!”

< _On second thought, bad idea. Run_. > Jake ordered quickly. < _Luke, now might be a good time to start slicing and dicing._ >

“With pleasure,” Luke said as he ignited his lightsaber and sliced through the wall of Hork-Bajir. They parted easily through the moving mass of blades.

Luke barely even noticed the others as they slashed through their opponents. He was focused on one thing only – getting back to the odd looking ship. Everything else faded away as he got closer to his goal.

< _Ax, get the ship started!_ > Jake shouted. The lights on the ship lit up moments later. Luke and the others tumbled aboard, followed by hacking blades. Luke cleanly cut them off in order for the hatch to seal shut.

< _We need to get to the main Pool. We’re picking up Marco’s mom on the go_. > Jake nodded to the controls. < _Someone had better get those working fast_. >

Before Luke could volunteer, Marco stepped forward and pretended to crack his massive knuckles. < _I’ve got the guns, O Fearless Leader_. >

< _Battle morphs, everyone. We’ll get out and grab her on the_ _dock_. >

“Actually, I could pick her up and get her inside, as long as the hatch is open.” Luke suggested. “No one needs to get out of the ship. I can undo her restraints as well from here.”

Everyone was quiet. Then, Jake nodded. < _Fine. Still, I want everyone ready to fight_. >

There wasn’t a lot of room in the ship while four humans, a bird and an Andalite were returning to their natural forms. But there was enough space, and in moments, each morph-capable kid was ready to fight.

Marco looked out of place with his big, meaty hands pressing delicate controls. Somehow he managed, though – Luke was certainly impressed. Blaster fire rained down on the underground organics that sent them scattering. Buildings were destroyed. Construction vehicles were blown apart. There was enough chaos that more people were focused on escaping than they were shooting down the traitorous ship.

Ax maneuvered the fighter through the fray. Shots fired from the blasters repeatedly rocked the ship. Luke was paying close attention to the shield power, which was rapidly decreasing.

With a crashing noise, the fighter entered the main area. Ax had flown into a large bundle of crates, which caused even more distress.

The Andalite got the ship to hover above the pier. < _I am opening the hatch now. Please hurry_. >

Luke leaned out of the hatch as far as he could and closed his eyes. He called upon the Force to create a shield around him to protect himself from blaster fire. He held out one hand and concentrated on Marco’s mother.

He could see the bindings all over her, each individual bruise and cut on her skin. He could feel her bone-deep exhaustion. With a twist of his hand, the bindings fell to her feet. He then cradled her within his control of the Force and lifted her up into the air.

For one chilling second, everything was silent. The beings surrounding the docks stared up in amazement.

Clearly, none of these organics had ever heard of the Jedi before.

He pulled the woman onboard – she was unconscious. He huffed out a huge sigh of relief –

And that was when the shields failed. A single blaster shot rocked the ship violently. Luke’s head was slammed into the top of the closing hatch. For one blissful moment, everything went black. He felt like he was falling.

Then everything was gray. A disgusting, sludge-like gray.

_Oh_ , he thought dimly, _this would just_ ruin _his clothes_.

He felt a strange presence at his side. It was small and curious and _malevolent_.

Luke couldn’t hold on to consciousness anymore.

There was too much screaming. His head _hurt_.

Then, he couldn’t feel anything.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin flips the fuck out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter tonight, I figured the cliffhanger from last time should finally be addressed, but everything that comes next needs to be its own long as fuck chapter. Anyways enjoy Anakin's totally justified freakout!  
> Also, some dialogue borrowed from the book this coincides with. You know how it be.

Anakin watched his son fall helplessly.

He couldn’t do anything. He was bound to a non-physical form that was completely useless.

What was the point of keeping his consciousness after death if he couldn’t _do_ anything?

“Someone’s got to get him!” He yelled out, materializing himself enough so that anyone with a basic grasp of the Force could see him. “You _can’t_ leave him here.”

< _Don’t worry_ ,> Jake said, < _Marco’s going to get him now_. >

Anakin felt a spike of anger. “I’ll worry if I damn well feel like it, kid!” He stood at the entrance to the hatch and looked out. He could see the ripples from where Luke had gone under. The disgusting liquid sloshed around, its thick, dense color hiding anything else from view.

Anakin could feel his son’s panic. He could feel Luke struggling to breathe under the fluid. He could feel – oh _Force_ , what was that?

Then he couldn’t feel Luke at all.

“ _Get this ship down now!_ ” He roared. The ship shook with the power of his desperation. Even Rachel and Marco heard him.

< _Calm down!_ > Marco snapped. < _Jesus, throw your fucking temper tantrum_ after _we get Luke back_. >

He could feel Obi-Wan’s questioning presence over their odd Force ghost-connection. He pushed his old friend away and tried to calm himself down.

Marco jumped out of the hatch and down into the sludge where Luke had fallen. The fighter was beside him, protecting him from the blaster fire that rocked the ship to and fro.

Something was starting to smoke.

Marco plunged into the viscous liquid. Anakin watched with bated breath that he didn’t really need.

Moments passed, and Marco pushed up out of the substance. He had an unconscious Luke cradled in his giant arms.

Anakin felt relief flood over him. He wished so _badly_ to be able to physically interact with this world.

He stepped aside as Marco leapt back on board the ship.

Blaster fire kept coming. Ax looked back nervously at the hatch as it closed. No one else was hurt.

He revved the engines and shot forward. Anakin knew the sound of desperation even without the pilot saying anything.

Then everything went silent.

The people running in chaos froze in fear. For a moment, it seemed like the engines in the ship stalled.

Then a booming laugh pounded into Anakin’s head.

It definitely wasn’t any of the kids.

< _Poor little Andalites_ > Came a freezing voice. < _Can’t quite find a way out, can you?_ > Another deep, menacing chuckle.

Anakin was horribly reminded of his old Master.

< _This is something called the Bievilerd! I picked this up on the planet Ondar. My teeth will shred your flesh like paper_. > He cackled darkly.

Anakin looked out of the port window. A humongous winged serpentine creature emerged from the ground. Its wings flapped once and shot it up into the dome space.

< _You will die here!_ > The Andalite laughed. < _And everyone will see me kill you!_ >

The giant alien was blocking the only exit. There was no way that Ax would be able to fly past him. While it looked like it would easily go down from a blaster shot, it moved too quickly to get a solid clear shot at him.

Anakin felt the rage swirl up in him again. It was familiar – the rage that had made him so good at becoming the galaxy’s most terrifying man.

He wouldn’t let some overgrown _bird-lizard_ kill his son.

Yoda had told him direct interaction with the physical world was _possible_ , but incredibly difficult. It required a powerful connection to the Force.

But Anakin had been one of the most powerful Jedi the galaxy had ever seen.

Luke had succeeded where Anakin had not. His temper had always been an issue, even when young.

But _now_ , he realized, there was no ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ way to use the Force. His emotions gave him strength.

With a great, furious roar, he called for as much power as the Force could allow him.

And he _tore_ the giant domed room apart. He felt individual atoms ripping to shreds as he pushed his power into the duracrete surrounding them.

A humongous chunk of duracrete fell from the ceiling and landed directly on top of the strange beast. It shrieked in pain and fell to the ground – and just like that, the pathway was open.

Ax shot through as soon as the opportunity presented itself.

< _What was that?!_ > Rachel asked incredulously. < _An earthquake? Do we even have that kind of luck?_ >

“No.” Anakin growled. “You have me.”

With that, he felt his visage flickering out. A rush of exhaustion swept over him.

“Well, you _had_ me. I can’t help anymore. The rest is up to you.” He said quietly, his anger still smoldering. “Keep my son safe. If he has one more scratch on him by the time you get back to the valley, I’ll make Obi-Wan do what I just did.”

With that, he couldn’t keep up his appearance any more. He disappeared, leaving the group of kids to get home on their own.

He hoped Luke would be all right by the time he built up his strength again.

At the mention of Obi-Wan’s name, the Jedi in question called him back.

“ _Anakin_ ,” he said worriedly, “ _This is urgent_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things really start to go wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter today!
> 
> You'll be glad to hear I've got a basic idea for where I want to take this fic. Perhaps you'll be less glad to hear that means I'm almost done writing it! 
> 
> Anyways, these next few chapters are basically the ideas that made me want to write this AU in the first place. I hope you like it.

They weren’t too far from where they first started. They were about to morph and ditch the Bug Fighter when Cassie pointed something out.

“What’s that?” She asked, her face pressed against the viewport. “It’s definitely not a camp fire.”

Tobias hopped over to the ledge below the viewport and looked out. < _Oh, shit_. >

“What?” Jake whipped his head around to look at the hawk. “What is it?”

< _That trail of smoke looks creepily similar to the crash that came from Luke’s ship_. >

“Are you saying someone followed him here?” Rachel asked angrily. “Why wouldn’t he have mentioned that?”

< _Maybe he didn’t know_. > Ax suggested.

“When he wakes up we can ask him.” Jake decided. “Until then, we can’t let them know we’ve got him. We’ll take him back to the Hork-Bajir valley, then keep watch.” He paused. “It’s time to ditch this fighter. Everyone, morph.”

Ax turned the ship to face the National Forest and took the plunge.

If Anakin had been there he would have said it was an extremely artful crash.

A gorilla carrying a young woman, a grizzly bear carrying a young man, an Andalite, a hawk, and two wolves fled from the wreckage just before Bug Fighters appeared out of thin air to destroy the leftovers of the ship.

< _Do we know if Marco’s mom is still infested?_ > Cassie asked.

< _If she is, she won’t be for long_. > Rachel answered darkly.

The valley opened up to the Animorphs. Toby was the first to greet them.

“Things went sideways as usual, I see.” She stared at Luke’s limp body. “That poor boy. He’s been trying so hard to meet every Hork-Bajir in the valley.” She shook her head. “Give the woman to me,” She announced, changing the topic, “I’ll get her settled into some shelter and work on some basic first-aid. You might want to get the Chee to help out with her injuries as well.”

Jake had almost finished demorphing. His muzzle shrank back into his face as his whiskers were sucked into his cheeks. “Good idea.” He nodded. “Marco, I can count on you to work that out, right?”

Marco nodded. “Sure. It’s not like I have anything else to do.” He joked. No one laughed.

Marco had just started to morph when Luke’s eyes opened.

Rachel gently set him on the ground. < _Hey, dude_. > She waved with one massive paw. < _How are you feeling?_ >

Luke blinked once. “How am I doing?” He shrugged. “All right. My head hurts.” He rubbed the back of his head and grimaced.

“We can talk to the Chee and see if they can do a quick once-over, to make sure there’s no lasting damage.” Cassie explained quietly. “You hit your head pretty hard.”

“The Chee?” His eyes lit up – in recognition? “I, uh, I mean – who are the Chee?”

Marco looked back at Jake uncomfortably. “They’re robot dogs. Pacifist. You’d probably be great friends with them.”

“Wow,” Luke said breathily, his eyes gleaming. “Well, don’t let me waste your time.” He waved to Marco.

Marco gave Jake one last strange look before he started to morph.

Once again, Luke watched him in fascination. Marco felt uncomfortable, as if the man was reading all of his secrets.

Once he was finally fully osprey, he flapped his wings and took off.

The image of Luke’s grinning face was stuck with Marco all throughout the flight to Erek’s house. There was something about it that didn’t sit well with him. The way his eyes glinted at mention of the Chee, despite claiming to know nothing about them.

He was about halfway to Erek's house when he understood what his brain was trying to tell him.

 _Luke had fallen into the Yeerk pool._ They should have been more careful. _Fuck_ , they should have seen this coming.

He did an immediate 180 and shot back to the valley.

As soon as he was in thought-speak range, he started shouting. < _JAKE!_ > He yelled. < _CASSIE! RACHEL!_ >

No response.

Either they were all still in human form, or...

He beat his wings faster. He had to get back to the valley. He could already imagine the horror he’d be met with when he crossed the threshold.

He crested the ridge of the valley and dipped down into a dive.

< _I don’t know where anyone is, but Luke is_ ->

< _We know, Marco_. > Tobias’ tired voice responded. < _Get down here and get_ big _. We’re trying to hold him off_. >

< _Shit_. > Marco gulped as he remembered the first fight they’d had with the Jedi.

< _His Yeerk isn’t very good at lightsaber techniques_. > Cassie called out. < _We’ve still got most of our limbs. It’s like he’s holding back_. >

< _All right. I’ll be there soon_. > Marco said as he landed.

The entire mission, gone to shit over _one_ fucking mistake. No one had thought Luke would get infested.

They were so goddamn stupid. They should have seen this coming from _miles_ away.

Marco could hear the sounds of a fight not too far from where he landed. He was quick to morph into a polar bear. While not his usual choice, hopefully the thick blubber would act as a kind of shield against Luke’s crazy fucking fire sword.

He lumbered through the trees and roared viciously as he saw Luke’s lightsaber cut through Rachel’s left foot. Her elephant trunk wrapped around Luke’s arm to hold the lightsaber away from everyone else. Marco watched as Luke sliced through her trunk with ease and danced away. Rachel screamed in pain and turned away – Marco could see her quickly demorphing and morphing elephant again.

< _What’s the plan?_ > He asked as he stood behind a particularly thick tree. Best not to give his presence away until needed.

< _Distract him enough to knock him out_. > Jake answered. He was a rhinoceros with a missing horn. < _I don’t know if we’ll be able to get him that tired unless we… do some damage._ >

< _If we can even touch this guy!_ > Rachel raged, fully elephant again. < _Marco, I don’t think he knows you’re here. When I get a hold on him, you go in for the kill_. >

< _I thought we were trying not to kill him!_ > Ax panted.

< _We have to get him out of commission one way or another_. > Marco growled. < _He’s too dangerous to let go_. >

Rachel, satisfied with Marco’s answer, stormed into battle once more.

< _Marco, Rachel, you can’t kill him!_ > Jake yelled.

< _I don’t_ want _to!_ > Rachel cried. < _But if we can’t put him down, we’ll all be in danger_. >

Marco said nothing. He waited for the perfect moment.

Rachel aimed one foot to kick at Luke’s torso while her trunk wrapped around his lightsaber-wielding hand once more.

This was Marco’s chance. He rushed forward and put as much strength as he could muster behind his paw. He had to make this one hit _count_.

< _Marco, STOP!_ > Jake screamed. < _THIS IS AN ORDER!_ >

Marco was past listening. He had to do what was right to protect his team. To protect the Hork-Bajir valley.

To protect the Earth.

He swung his paw down with deadly force.

Except his paw didn’t move.

Luke (or rather, the Yeerk controlling Luke) looked up at him with uncharacteristically cold hate in his blue eyes. “What,” He sneered, “Too afraid to kill your friend?”

< _Marco_ …> Rachel warned.

< _I can’t do anything! It’s like someone’s holding my arm back!_ > He yelped.

Luke’s eyes narrowed. “Go on.” He snarled. “Or I’ll just go back to killing all of your friends!” He let out one sharp, violent laugh and tried to swing his lightsaber down on Rachel’s trunk.

Except his arm didn’t move.

“What?” He growled. “I’m not doing this!”

“ _I_ am.” A woman’s voice called out.

Oh boy. She sounded angry.

A softer voice, this one a man’s, followed. “Come on, Leia. These are all weird animals. I’m sure that –“

A woman no older than Luke stalked out from the shadows. Another man followed her sheepishly. The woman (presumably named Leia) stopped in front of Luke and glared at him with such fury that even Marco felt a little bit like pissing his pants. Well, if he were wearing any. 

“What in the Force’s name has happened to you?” She hissed at Luke. “I’m going to kick Anakin’s _ass_ when he shows his sorry face.”  

Ah. So she knows them.

< _Excuse me?_ > Marco probed. The woman showed no sign of hearing him. The man, however, did.

“Woah!” He yelled and spun around, his eyes wildly searching for the source. Marco made a soft grumbling noise.

< _The polar bear to your right. No, your other right_. > The man turned to face Marco. His eyes widened.

“Leia, are you hearing this?” He asked quietly.

“Of course I’m hearing it!” She snapped. “I have more important shit on my mind right now than telepathic creatures on this _stupid karking planet_.”

She glared directly into Luke’s face.

Luke practically quailed. “Y-you’re…” he whispered. “No, he didn’t think you’d find your way here!”

“Shows how well he knows me.” Leia scoffed. “Now return my brother to normal before I _make_ you.”

< _Woah, hold up now. Brother?_ > Rachel asked. < _And, uh, can I have my trunk back?_ >

Leia looked up at the elephant and waved her hand. Rachel drew her trunk back in relief and stepped away. Luke tried to move, but was still frozen to the spot. His lightsaber still hummed softly.

“You’re not going anywhere until you get out of him.”

Luke’s facial features contorted into a disgusting grin. “What if I just stay here? What are you going to do, _force_ me out?” He laughed. “I don’t think so. And you seem to forget _, sister dear_ , that I’ve got more training than you.” He closed his eyes and, clearly with a great deal of effort, broke free from Leia’s hold.

“There’s nothing you can do to stop me.” He chuckled.

Leia shook her head. “Not true. You always were shit as lightsaber duels.” She smirked, but her eyes were still filled with anger. “Well, I always kicked your ass, at least.”

For a moment, the old Luke returned. His presence changed completely, from radiating a cold chill to a soft warmth. “Hey!” he replied indignantly. “I fought Darth Vader and _won_ , you know!”

He froze and looked at everyone surrounding him. “Oh. That was –“

The cold chill was back as Luke’s cheerful presence was locked back away. “What a goddamn nuisance.” The Yeerk growled. He returned to Leia’s attention and smiled again. “You want to have a duel, then? I guess _you’ll_ be able to succeed in killing your brother?” He asked in a mocking tone.

Leia snorted. “I don’t have to kill him. I just have to kick his ass hard enough that you fall right out.”

< _I don’t think this woman understands Yeerk biology_. > Ax whispered to the group, who were all watching in dumbfounded shock.

< _Somehow, I think she’s going to make it work anyways_. > Cassie said faintly.

Silently, everyone agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought! :3


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke vs. Leia! Who will win?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry for the wait! I've been writing for a different fic lately (in case you hadn't noticed, Animorphs is not a very popular thing, so writing crossover fic doesn't always a lot of feedback, lol), but this still has a lot of it written out. Right now I'm working on the final stretch, so fingers crossed!

Leia grabbed her lightsaber and ignited it. A brilliant blue light burst forth from the hilt. She closed her eyes and focused on the Force swirling around her. She could use the Force to lessen the damage of her lightsaber against her brother – at least, that’s what Yoda said.

She could also leave her ‘saber in training mode. But that wouldn’t effectively knock him out…

She’d just have to aim for his metal hand and be careful not to decapitate him. No problem.

“You can’t run from me.” Leia growled. “I’ve got the same powers you do.” She assumed the Niman starting position. “Your only choice is to fight.”

Luke, free from her Force-grasp, slipped into a sloppy Djem So stance. Leia snorted. “That Yeerk in your head doesn’t know how to fight.”

“I have all the information I need from his memories. This is certainly the most powerful form he knows.” Luke sneered back and leapt forward, his blade hissing for Leia’s throat.

Leia stepped back and blocked his lightsaber with her own. They met with a rush of sparks. “Power isn’t everything.” She shoved back and pushed Luke away before retreating to a safe distance. “If you’re able to see Luke’s memories, you should know that by now.”

Luke darted forward again, his lightsaber headed for Leia’s legs. The Force warned her of his impending attack, and was ready when he feinted up and towards her chest instead. Luke attacked her mercilessly, his eyes dark. Their lightsabers clashed together over and over again – Luke attacking, Leia defending. She was getting a feel for the being’s understanding of lightsaber combat.

As far as she knew, he would strike quickly and with as much power as possible. He wanted to end the battle quickly.

Leia, however, had no such qualms about drawing it out. She pulled away and only attacked when the Force told her to.

She felt a tug in the Force, urging her to her left. She ducked in the direction and barely missed a sure decapitation from her brother’s blade. She gritted her teeth and jumped up and around Luke. He was trying to corner her into the trees. She would not let him do that so easily.

He growled and rushed forward again. Leia met him in the center of the clearing and their blades hissed on contact.

_Now_ she’d show him how to fight with the Force. She went on a furious offensive, leaving him no way to attack in retaliation. Luke was forced to defend himself as he slowly moved back. Leia gave him a predatory grin and _shoved_ with the Force.

Luke flew backwards into a nearby tree. His lightsaber had been knocked to the ground and extinguished. He stood there, stunned, while Leia stalked towards him. She had a predatory grin on her face.

“You may have learned how to wield a lightsaber,” she reproached, “but you don’t know how to _really_ use it.”

How _dare_ that little being worm its way into Luke’s head and steal the knowledge Luke himself had risked his life over and over and _over_ again to attain. How _dare_ it believe it has a grasp on the nuances of the Force, of its _power_.

Leia reached out in the Force and reached for the light in her brother that was distinctly _other_. She felt it within her grasp. The little, disturbed light that took over her _brother_. She grabbed it tightly and imagined its disgusting life flickering out.

If Leia had not been consumed in that moment, she would have noticed that Luke’s face was contorted with pain. He was pressed hard against the tree and was clearly struggling to break free.

But all Leia could feel was that little light in her brother’s head that _wasn’t_ her brother. She _yanked_ at it, and that was when Luke screamed.

Leia stopped when he made that noise. That scream hadn’t been made by the being in his head. That was _him_.

She opened her eyes, unaware that they had been closed, and nearly fainted. Blood was trickling out of his ear. The pain, gone once Leia had come to her senses, was gone from his eyes – but that didn’t mean he wasn’t eyeing her warily.

“Leia…” Luke brought one hand up to his ear. “You almost killed me.”

Leia stumbled back. “What? No, I – I was trying to take it _out_ – “

“It’s wrapped around my _brain_ , Leia.” He shook his head tiredly. “You’d need a certain amount of finesse to take it out without killing me, too.”

“If it’s still in your head, why are you… _you_?” Leia asked quietly. Luke shrugged.

“I think you might have… incapacitated it. It’s trying to regain control, but it’s very weak.” Luke sighed and put one hand on his forehead. “If you would listen to the children, they can get this all over with in a few days.”

Leia looked around for the animals with humanoid Force presences she had seen earlier. It surprised her when they were much farther away than she thought. “We moved.”

Luke snorted. “That’s an understatement.” He paused, then called his lightsaber to his hand. He gave it to Leia. “Keep a good grip on this in case I…”

Leia nodded. “Good idea.”

“Listen, Leia…” He looked to her with a lecture clear in his face. Leia waved her hands and stepped away.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was going to do that.” She said quickly. “I know what happened.”

“That was the Dark Side.” He pursed his lips. “You need to be more careful.”

“I said I was sorry.” Leia closed her eyes and sighed. “I can’t be a Jedi like you, Luke. I can fight, I can use the Force, but I can’t…”

Luke shook his head. He placed one hand on Leia’s shoulder and the other on her chin. He tilted her head up and smiled. “You don’t have to be a Jedi, silly.” He said simply. “Just be _good_.”

Leia frowned. “I thought you wanted to rebuild the Jedi Order.”

Her brother nodded. “Well, of course. But Jedi aren’t the only ones capable of using the Force. I don’t want the new Order full of people who don’t want to be Jedi.”

“Where did all this wisdom come from?” Leia found herself asking with a quiet smile.

“It comes with the green lightsaber.” Luke winked. He turned towards the Force presences that were still some ways away and started to walk. Leia followed behind with a chuckle.

She didn’t know how long it would be until the being in his head took over again, but she would cherish the time she had with him until then.

She ignored the dark stirrings in her gut. She may have almost killed him, but she _didn’t_. She came back in time.

She wondered if this is what their father ever felt like.

* * *

Leia and Luke had disappeared through the trees. Han was stuck surrounded by a bunch of wild animals.

Or… he _assumed_ they were wild animals. He didn’t entirely know what was going on, really. Leia hadn’t said much when they landed, she just took off running after talking to some invisible ghosts and Han was left to follow.

Of course, she had run off again, but this time she was fighting Luke. There was _definitely_ something wrong with that scenario. Luke hadn’t seemed like himself, either.

< _So, who’re you?_ >

Han jumped. Leia and Luke might be used to people talking in their heads, but he sure wasn’t. He looked around at the animals nervously. “Uh, listen. I’m just with the Princess. I don’t really get what just happened.”

< _Great_. > Another voice spoke. Han felt like scoffing at that voice’s sarcasm.

< _Are you like Luke? Can you use the Force?_ > Someone else asked.

Han couldn’t help it – he laughed. “No, I can’t do all that crazy stuff.” He sobered quickly. “Can any of you?”

The animals all looked at each other for a moment. A grey armored, horned beast stepped forward. < _Yeah, pretty much_. >

Han sighed and sat against the nearest tree. “Great. No matter where I go, I’m surrounded by this blasted Jedi nonsense.”

< _We’re not Jedi_. > The armored thing said. < _Luke’s teaching us, but he isn’t making us Jedi_. >

Han did scoff this time. “ _Luke_ , teaching you guys?” He shook his head. “Wasn’t he just chopping you all up?”

< _He was infested by a Yeerk_. > The armored animal spoke again. < _Yeerks take control over your body and make you do things you don’t want to_. >

Han shook his head and groaned. “Awesome.”

A blue-furred creature stepped forward. < _You and that woman… you are friends with Luke, correct?_ >

Han nodded. “Leia’s his sister, like she said. I’m his brother-in-law.” He smirked. Luke hated it when he said that.

< _I… believe we can trust him_. > The blue-furred thing said.

< _Me too_. > The horned creature responded. < _It should be safe to demorph now_. >

There was an awkward pause as Han stared around at the group of animals. Then, things started _changing_ and he felt like he was going to be sick.

“Seven Hells, what in the galaxy is wrong with you?” He blanched and braced himself against a tree for support. “Oh, that’s disgusting.”

< _Finally,_ someone _responds to this normally_. > The giant bear said.

“Oh, kriff, I’m gonna be sick.” Han grimaced and turned away. “Eugh. Nobody better tell Chewie about this.”

He kept his head turned away until the freakish sounds of flesh merging and bones breaking stopped. He didn’t want to look at the finished result, either, though. He kept looking away until a suspiciously human hand was laid on his shoulder. He turned his head to look into the eyes of a young boy with dark brown eyes.

“I’m Jake.” He said.

“Great. Awesome. That was disgusting.”

Jake smiled. “Yeah, it’s pretty gross.”

Han scowled, then blinked nervously. “Hey, is that a Force thing? Can Luke do that if he wanted to?”

“Nah, we’re special,” said another kid – he had darker skin and floppy black hair, “Luke _wishes_ he had our powers.”

Han snorted. “I bet he does. He’s weird like that.” He paused, then held out his hand to Jake. “I’m Han Solo. Solo-Organa.” He smiled at the addition of his wife’s last name. “Galaxy’s best ex-smuggler.”

“Ex?” A blonde girl asked.

“Oh, yeah. After the war, I needed to find a more appropriate job. Can’t exactly be a good smuggler when your wife’s one of the most influential people in the Senate.”

“And a princess, apparently.” Jake smiled.

Han ignored the sharp pain in his heart and shook his head. “That’s just a title, now.” He gave the boy a halfhearted smile, hoping the topic would be dropped. “Just don’t bring it up in front of her.”

A dark-skinned girl frowned and stepped closer. “I’m sorry.”

Han shrugged and held out his hands. “It wasn’t my planet.”

That got him some weird looks from the assortment of children. And from the blue-furred beast that hadn’t done any changing. And from the bird that rested on the blue thing’s shoulder.

“Listen, we shouldn’t stay here while Luke and that, uh, Leia are fighting. If anything, we should go find them.” The floppy-haired boy frowned out into the dark forest.

“Tobias and I will go look for them. We’ll meet up at Cassie’s barn in a day.” Jake ordered. “Han, you can stay with them or come with us, but if you come with us I’m pretty sure you’ll be in danger.”

Han didn’t even hesitate. He pulled his blaster out of its holster and turned the safety off. “I’m comin’ with you.”

< _Great_ ,> came from the bird, < _He can do ground cover, I guess_. >

“All right. Let’s head out.” Jake nodded to his teammates. Somehow, without Han noticing, they had all faded into the forest. Jake was the only one left, and when he started changing again, Han had the decency to not make any noise while he felt like totally retching.

< _Okay, Tobias goes counterclockwise. I’ll go clockwise. We go in a spiral_. > Jake said – from the body of a different bird.

Han, however, had questions. “What’s ‘clockwise’ supposed to mean?”

Tobias and Jake looked at each other with their beady little bird eyes. Han scowled.

< _Pick a direction and walk in it. Tobias or I will keep a visual on you_. > Jake took to the air with a few wing flaps. Han tried not to scoff.

“Fine. But trust me, I have a habit of running into trouble.” He smirked.

< _That makes three of us_. > Tobias said smugly.

Han figured he didn’t really like these kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try not to leave you in the dark for much longer! You're catching up to where I'm at, slowly but surely! Let me know what you think, yeah?


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